“Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body”… so wrote Joseph Addison over 300 years ago. Most of us have memories of being read to as children and the pleasure it gave us, although of course we did not know then that because of the learning potential, the effects of reading on…
Staff Reporter Academic selection in the North of Ireland “disadvantages the already disadvantaged” according to new research from Queen’s University Belfast (QUB). Called ‘Is academic selection in Northern Ireland a barrier to social cohesion?’, the paper discusses the tests used by grammar schools to select pupils. Transfer tests began on Saturday November 12 and will…
Staff Writer A novena with addresses from special guests has started up as the month’s mind Masses for the victims of the October 7 explosion in Creeslough come to an end, with Fr John Joe Duffy saying that the intention is to bring about healing for a hurting community. Former Tyrone manager Mickey Harte is…
Limerick parishes offer prayers for Vicky Phelan Parishes in Limerick have offered prayers for cervical cancer campaigner Vicky Phelan, who died on Monday aged 48. “You will always be remembered for your strength and bravery, you were inspirational to so many,” the parishes of Donoughmore, Knockea and Roxboro in Ms Phelan’s home county, Limerick, said…
Pope Francis has continued to call on Russian and Ukrainian leaders to negotiate an end to the war, but the head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church told him Russia wants only the destruction of Ukraine. Ukrainian Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk of Kyiv-Halych met Pope Francis November 7 at the Vatican, the first time the two have…
Bishop Helmut Dieser of Aachen wants the Catholic Church to take a new perspective on sexuality. “Same-sex feelings and love are not an aberration, but a variant of human sexuality,” he said in an interview with Deutsche Welle November 8. His remarks were reported by the German Catholic news agency, KNA. Homosexuals have a right…
Staff Reporter Never tire in the fight to “destroy” abortion, Dr Dermot Kearney told those who gathered for the Pro Life Campaign’s national conference. The Irish doctor, who risked his career to offer abortion pill reversal treatments in the UK, said pro-lifers must “never tire of doing what is right”. “Abortion must be destroyed,” Dr…
The first auditor general of the Vatican and his deputy are suing the Secretariat of State for $9.25 million in damages. Libero Milone and Ferruccio Panicco are seeking compensation for loss of earnings, damage to their reputations, and emotional suffering. Mr Milone and Mr Panicco told reporters this week they also would submit records documenting…
by Frank Litton A force for good? Reflections on neutrality and the future of Irish defence. Dublin: Afri 2022, ISBN 0-9511178-3-5 (Afri can be reached at 8 New Cabra Road, Dublin7, DO7 T1W2; email: admin@afri.ie) War once more in Europe, once more slaughter, devastation, lives destroyed. Once more efforts to make sense of it all,…
A group of Catholic business leaders in the Philippines has forged an agreement to implement a cap on the prices of goods and commodities during the Christmas holiday season. The group of more than 3,000 entrepreneurs said the decision was made in order not to take advantage of the high demand during the Christmas season,…