Christian persecution at ‘genocidal’ levels – report

Increasing severity in the persecution of Christians in different parts of the world is reaching “genocidal” levels, according to a new report commissioned by the British government. An interim report issued by an Independent Review set up at the request of the UK foreign secretary said that Christians are overwhelmingly the most targeted religious group…

Who should 
I vote for?

The PLC can help Catholics find and support pro-life candidates, writes Eilís Mulroy   All of the main political parties and indeed all of those at the national political level pay detailed and close attention to the local elections. The reason they do so is because they provide a significant window of opportunity in which…

Plan your summer fun

Hannah Harn discusses summer holiday options for kids of all ages   Now that young people are at the cusp of surviving another school year, they’ll have three months off to relax and recharge before kicking back into gear in autumn. However, nobody wants to run out of things to do after a week, and…

Holding onto hope when times look hopeless

Fr Tony Coote describes how he was first diagnosed with motor neurone disease   I woke in my house in Mount Merrion, Dublin around 6.30am. I hadn’t had much sleep. I had an appointment that morning in the Beacon hospital. I went to the window; the whole area was covered in snow. Normally on a Wednesday…

Transforming division and bridging fractures

Personal Profile Hannah Harn   Though Rev. Alex Wimberly, the newly appointed leader of Corrymeela in the North of Ireland, is originally from the United States, he is no stranger to Ireland. A fourth-generation Presbyterian minister, married with three children to Rev. Kiran Young Wimberly, a fellow minister, Rev. Alex worked in Belfast as minister of…

Ebola outbreak claims more than 1,000 lives

The Ebola outbreak that began last August in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has now claimed more than 1,000 lives, the nation’s health ministry has confirmed. Efforts to contain the disease have been hampered by misinformation and distrust on the part of local communities, who in some cases have retaliated against health teams by…