Pope prays for persecuted Christians The prayer intention of Pope Francis for March 2017 is “that persecuted Christians may be supported by the prayers and material help of the whole Church”. In a monthly reflection on the papal prayer intention, the Apostleship of Prayer notes that Pope Francis has asked for special prayers for persecuted…
The voices led by the Catholic Church in the Philippines against the murderous anti-drug tactics of President Rodrigo Duterte gained an important boost last week. On March 2 the international rights group Human Rights Watch (HRW) released the results of its own ‘sample study’ into the phenomenon of extrajudicial killings being laid at the door…
Dear Editor, Following the revelations last week that “significant quantities” of human remains had been discovered at the site of the former mother-and-baby home in Tuam, Co. Galway, one could almost hear the deafening noise of knuckle-cracking that resulted from the universal epidemic of hand-wringing that spread throughout the land. “How could this happen?” some…
Darragh McGann Like any audience, a priest has to know his congregation when delivering a homily, writes Darragh McGann For as long as I can remember I have heard people saying that Mass is boring, as an explanation or an excuse for not attending. I was an altar server for eight years and would often…
Felix M. Larkin Ireland’s Allies: America and the 1916 Rising edited by Miriam Nyhan Gray (UCD Press, €40.00) In August 1886, speaking at a gathering of Irish-Americans in Chicago, Michael Davitt said: “It is very easy to establish an Irish republic by patriotic speeches delivered three thousand miles away, but we could not do it…
Fr Conor McDonough OP As Catholics we all surely felt our faith was disrespected last month when the comedian David Chambers (‘Blindboy Boatclub’) described the Eucharist as ‘haunted bread’ on The Late Late Show. The celebration of the Eucharist is the raison d’être of the priesthood, so as a newly-ordained priest I felt particularly keenly…
Pope considering trip to famine-struck South Sudan Pope Francis has revealed he is considering the possibility of an official trip to South Sudan. Days after he made a plea for the international community to respond to “a severe food crisis, which has hit the Horn of Africa region [and] condemns to death by starvation millions…
Dear Editor, Mary Kenny should be thanked for her musings on ‘Fr D’Arcy’s reflections on a parallel life’ (IC 23/02/2017), which have injected some reality into what seems an interminable drone in favour of married priests. Fr D’Arcy’s comment that he would have been a far better priest had he married is, of course, balderdash,…
Michelle Manley Michelle Manley describes the work of Dublin’s new Youth Evangelisation Team The Archdiocese of Dublin has established a new Youth Evangelisation Team, tasked with faith outreach to teenagers and young adults. The central hub for this exciting new venture is right in the heart of Dublin in St Paul’s Church at Arran Quay…
Felix M. Larkin There are many connections between Ireland and Tasmania, and not only because of the latter’s status as a penal colony in the first half of the 19th Century. These connections are reflected in a beautiful stained glass window in St Mary’s Catholic Cathedral in Hobart. Erected in 1995, the window is dedicated…