Fr Martin Delaney The recent death of one of my parishioners got me thinking about how the smallest acts and gestures can have an enormous impact. I was reminded of when Communist rule fell in the former Soviet Union. In August 1991 a group of Russian generals were determined to turn back the tide of…
Family Histories of the Irish Revolution edited by Ciara Boylan, Sarah-Anne Buckley and Pat Dolan (Open Air, €24.95) J. Anthony Gaughan This collection of interesting essays concern persons who in one way or another were involved in the revolutionary years from 1913 to 1923. The essays are by relatives of these activists, some of whom were well-known,…
A unique charity challenge As part of Trócaire’s Lenten campaign, the charity is challenging people to come offline and give up social media for 24 hours. The ‘Sign Up Sign Out Challenge’ takes place on March 7, and encourages everyone to stay off social media for a full day, and asks them to instead seek sponsorship and…
Protesting several actions described as a systematic campaign “against the churches and the Christian community in the Holy Land”, the heads of Christian churches announced they were closing the doors of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Bewildered pilgrims milled around the square in front of the church as Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III, who…
Migration is not a crime and vulnerable migrant and refugee children should not be detained as if they were criminals, speakers said at a UN programme. More than one dozen speakers addressed ‘Ending the Detention of Migrant and Refugee Children: Best Interest Determination and Alternatives to Detention’ in a fast-paced discussion hosted by the Permanent…
The Church in South Korea has gathered over a million names on a petition to keep the country’s anti-abortion law in place. As South Korea continues to modernise and with the number of single mothers on the rise, calls to decriminalise abortion have increased from sectors of society. “The signature-gathering campaign was conducted voluntarily and it served as an opportunity to…
Ash Wednesday burns mystery explained An investigation has ruled out sabotage as the cause of skin rashes from ashes used during an Ash Wednesday ritual in the Philippines last week. Bishop Pablo Virgilio David of Kalookan said the “mystery burns” people had on their foreheads after the ashes were administered in Manila Diocese were caused by acid.…
Cardinal Joseph Tobin, the Irish-American Archbishop of Newark, has apologised for what he described as an embarrassing gaffe on social media after he posted a message to Twitter which included “Nighty-night, baby. I love you”. Within two hours the tweet had been deleted, and a diocesan spokesman insisted that the cardinal was boarding a flight at the…
Episode 3 of The Irish Catholic Podcast sees John Quinn speaking to Paddy Monaghan, from Johnstown Parish in Dublin, which has undertaken a Hospitality Ministry over the past few years, culminating in a regular Men’s Breakfast on Saturday mornings, held in the Parish Centre. This episode looks at practical ways Irish Catholic parishes can engage…
Congo’s Catholic bishops denounced attempts to discredit their Church’s leaders and demanded the government lift a ban on peaceful demonstrations. The world “is witnessing poisonous campaigns of denigration and defamation, designed to weaken our Church’s moral force,” said a statement from the bishops’ conference. “Unswerving in our faith in Jesus Christ, king of the universe,…