A concert today keeps the doctor away

Madison Duddy explores how concert going can improve health   For many, music is a significant part of their life. The second people start their morning commute, the headphones go in or the car radio is switched on, bringing some fun to an otherwise ordinary morning. One does not have to be a singer, dancer…

Another Congo diocese intensifies fight against Ebola

A Catholic diocese in Congo has boosted measures to protect its congregations against Ebola, after the latest outbreak was declared an international emergency by the World Health Organisation. “The Goma Diocese is joining the general preoccupation with preventive precautions,” said a statement issued by Msgr Jacques Letakamba, diocesan chancellor. “Washing will now be obligatory for…

Katy Perry to compensate Christian rapper

Famous singer Katy Perry has been ordered to pay a Christian rapper thousands after a judge ruled that she copied elements of his song. Gospel artist Flame – real name Marcus Gray – sued the 34-year-old popstar after he successfully showed the court that her 2013 hit ‘Dark Horse’ was based on his song ‘Joyful…

Making the most of a wide, wide world

Elsewhere: One Woman, One Rucksack, One Lifetime of Travel by Rosita Boland (Doubleday, €16.99) Barbara
 Pierce   Elsewhere is a fascinating series of essays written about extraordinary journeys travelled by Rosita Boland over a period of about thirty years. She set off alone with only a 10kg bag, a passport and a black note book, no…

A Search for solitude: The woman behind Grásta Dé

Personal Profile Madison Duddy Such spiritual places of retreat will be needed to recover ground lost to the materialism of modern Ireland,” says Gráinne McGroarty, a Co. Donegal native who founded Grásta Dé, a group of hermitage sites within the Inishowen peninsula. Gráinne believes this hectic world wears people out physically and spiritually, and a…

Vatican Roundup

Abuse
 reports 
confirmed 
about 
famed
 Jesuit
 in
 Chile While deceased Jesuit Fr Renato Poblete Barth was known publicly as a champion of the poor in Chile, an internal investigation funded by the Jesuits revealed that the famed clergyman abused more than a dozen women over a span of nearly 50 years. The results of the…

In Brief

Fire destroys ‘treasured’ historic church in Texas The Church of the Visitation in Westphalia, a nearly 125-year-old wooden church with bell towers on each side, burned to the ground last week. The fire, which began in the morning, is still under investigation. Parishioners ran into the burning church to save what they could, including its…