John Redmond. Selected letters and memoranda, 1880-1918 edited by Dermot Meleady (Merrion Press, €29.99/£26.99) Ian d’Alton On March 6, 1918, John Redmond, leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party, died – “a broken-hearted man”, in his own words – at the relatively young age of 61 years. History was in the process of overtaking him, and what…
Speaking at a presentation of a book on Humanae Vitae, Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Mueller, prefect emeritus of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, stressed that attempts to change the Church’s teaching are “a crime against the Church”. “The current attempt,” he said, “to put in contrast the last three pontificates, with the pretext…
The St Patrick of popular lore was the creation of the 7th-Century Church, writes Thomas O’Loughlin Memory is our key both to the past and to our identity, and we are usually fairly certain about the overall architecture of the edifice known as ‘our story’. Turning to Patrick – a crucial figure in Irish…
Dear Editor, I am commenting on the recent resignation of Bishop McAreavey because of his having been criticised for offering the funeral Mass for a priest who, according to the secular media, was “a known paedophile”. Paedophilia is an abomination before God. The trauma caused to victims – physical, psychological, spiritual and social – is incalculable, often resulting…
Fr Bernard Healy The Notebook Pope Francis has me worried! At a recent Public Audience he reminded preachers to prepare homilies well and told us that they “should not last more than 10 minutes, please”. Whatever conclusions my congregation might reach about how well-prepared my homilies are (I try, honestly!), long-windedness on a Sunday…
A study on the Irish Christian Brother who founded Scottish football club Glasgow Celtic has commenced in Scotland. The impact of Celtic FC founder Br Walfrid on social, cultural and religious identities in Scotland will form part of a new £25,000 (€28,000) study by the University of Stirling. The research will investigate the life and…
Snow much fun for Galway Poor Clares With heaps of snow showering Ireland recently an enclosed community of nuns couldn’t help but make the most of the weather phenomenon. The Abbess, Sr Colette said: “The fun we had over the few days just seemed natural. St Francis was known for his love of nature and there are stories told of how he…
Text of keynote address by Mary McAleese, President of Ireland 1997-2011, at the Voices of Faith International Women’s Day Conference. Theme: Why women matter. March 8, 2018 at the Jesuit Curia, Rome “Historical oppression of women has deprived the human race of untold resources, true progress for women cannot fail to liberate enormous reserves…
David Kennedy In his letter on the joy of love, Amoris Laetitia, Pope Francis calls on Catholic families to live their Easter faith and to recognise that at its centre one finds authentic Christian hope. In fact, he emphasises that “in our own day dominated by stress and rapid technological advances, one of the…
Church leaders have offered their condolences upon the death of theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, who although did not believe in God, fostered a fruitful dialogue between science and faith. The British-born scientist who died today at the age of 76 was an esteemed member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. The academy, which Pope Pius…