Dear Editor, According to Collin’s Dictionary to blaspheme is to “show contempt for God, especially, in speech”. One may add to Collin’s definition the personal and social implications of gratuitously insulting and offending our fellow citizens who conscientiously believe in God. Blasphemy, therefore, if not prohibited in the Constitution or by law, can be a…
Laura Anderson To get your mouth watering this Halloween, try out this alternative take on the festive classic that will fill your kitchen with the sweet scent of autumnal spices. And don’t be scared off by the toffee sauce: this version simply involves melting down some shop-bought toffees for drizzling over the top of the…
Mayo – give it a go! For those who have haven’t explored the beautiful county of Mayo, the three-day Mayo Dark Sky Festival is your opportunity to discover the hidden treasures of the area. This is the third year of the festival which provides ample opportunities to learn about astronomy, and the all the wonders…
Raising Dublin, Raising Ireland: A Friar’s Campaigns – Father John Spratt, O.Carm. Fergus A. D’Arcy (Carmelite Publications, €24.99) Felix M. Larkin Lytton Strachey, in Eminent Victorians, writes of Cardinal Manning of Westminster that “he belonged to that class of eminent ecclesiastics – and it is by no means a small class – who have been distinguished less for…
DUP members of the Stormont Assembly have been accused of mocking a fellow party member for attending the civic reception for Pope Francis in Dublin Castle. A senior member of the party criticised Lagan Valley MLA Robbie Butler for attending the August 25 event, referring to the Pope as “the Antichrist”, while another MLA mockingly…
Parish communities in Bray have offered their support for a young boy and mother who are facing imminent deportation to China. Parishioners in Co. Wicklow have said that nine-year-old Eric Zhi Ying Xue, who hit news headlines earlier this week, should not be deported to China. Although Eric was born in Ireland he is not…
In his general audience today, Pope Francis said that engaged couples require “careful preparation” for the lifelong fidelity that marriage requires. “One cannot say marriage preparation is three or four conferences given in the parish. This is not preparation,” Pope Francis said in St. Peter’s Square today, in a departure from his prepared remarks. “The…
The UK’s highest court has ruled that a Northern Ireland bakery’s refusal to make a cake with a message supporting same-sex marriage was not discriminatory. The Supreme Court found on October 10 that the Christian owners of Ashers bakery did not discriminate against a customer and did not refuse to bake the cake because of…
A congregation of over 2,000 people attended the 33rd Irish Kidney Association’s Service of Remembrance and Thanksgiving at Corpus Christi Church, Homefarm Road, Dublin 9 on Saturday, October 6 to honour organ donors and their families. Present at the ecumenical service were families of deceased organ donors and living donors as well as transplant recipients…
Bishop Noel Treanor told nine new deacons “we rejoice and give thanks to you” at their ordination over the weekend. The ordinations, the first for the permanent diaconate for the Diocese of Down and Connor, took place on Sunday, October 14. Each deacon will be attached to a parish and will assist with Mass, occasionally…