Dear Editor, In his address to the Holy Father on the occasion of the Pope’s recent visit to Ireland, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar delivered a master-class in state diplomacy and political expediency. However, while acknowledging the validity of some of Mr Varadkar’s statements, the overriding tenor of his speech was anything but edifying; more a master-class…
The Pope in Ireland Francis arrives back in Ireland Some 38 years after he spent three months in Dublin as a Jesuit priest, Jorge Bergoglio returned to Dublin as Pope. He made history by becoming the first Pope since St John Paul II in 1979 to visit Ireland. Pope Francis was welcomed by high-ranking…
I am close to you: keep moving ahead with courage, Pope tells bishops All of us, as bishops, are conscious of our responsibility to be fathers to God’s holy and faithful people. As good fathers, we want to encourage and inspire, to reconcile and unify, and above all, to preserve all the good handed…
Why we Need Religion by Stephen T. Asma (Oxford University Press, £20.00) Christopher Moriarty The dramatic increase in secularism and fall in numbers of professed adherents to religion has been a feature of the past few generations in the western world. Its roots lie in the application of the scientific method which began to explode in…
Rich in Faith, Beauty and History: St Mary’s Church, Haddington Road, Dublin by Patrick Claffey (From the Parish Office, €5.00) Felix M. Larkin One of the ways we find God – or, more accurately perhaps, how He finds us – is through the art and architecture of places like St Mary’s, in Haddington Road, a lovely church whose art is…
The blue car used by Pope Francis during his WMOF trip to Ireland is to be donated to help the homeless. On Monday, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin announced that the car would be donated to Crosscare, the social care agency of the Archdiocese of Dublin. It will be used by Crosscare staff based in the agency’s…
Pat O’Kelly The ever-assiduous Madeleine Flanagan of ‘Classical-links’ in Claregalway keeps me informed of events in the West. Her latest missive draws my attention to this year’s Westport Festival of Chamber Music taking place over the weekend September 7-9. Founded in 2013 by violinist Catherine Leonard and pianist Hugh Tinney, they continue to guide…
The Primate of All Ireland has said that “decisive action” against clerical abuse will be proof of whether the Pope’s visit to Ireland has been a success or not. Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland programme on August 27, Archbishop Eamon Martin said that Francis has taken lead in addressing the clerical abuse crisis, referencing a…
The Notebook Fr Bernard Healy During the past 10 years of parish ministry, I’ve often been asked how priests deal with the sheer variety of our work. There are days when you have to go from a funeral to a baptism, or from a wedding reception to a deathbed. At all times the priest…
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said that religion will continue to play an important role in Irish society in the future. In a carefully-worded speech to welcome the Pope to Dublin Castle, Mr Varadkar also said he hoped that the Pope would soon be able to cross the border and make a visit to the North.…