Conor Lenihan By sheer stroke of luck, this year a friend offered me his chateau in the Dordogne, France, for the Christmas period. After a quick family consultation we decided to take up the generous offer. Dordogne lies between the Massif Centrale and the Pyrenees mountain range that firms the border with Spain. On the…
Church forces Filipino police to suspend ‘shoot-to-kill’ campaign
President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines has been forced to suspend his controversial war on drugs just days after Catholic Church leaders issued fresh attacks on the campaign of murder. Amid reports that police units tasked with undertaking the president’s campaign are riddled with corruption – prompting criticism from Mr Duterte – police chief Ronald…
US and Mexican bishops decry Trump border wall
The Catholic bishops of Mexico have lamented the executive order signed by President Donald Trump which signals the start of the process to build his notorious southern border wall. Reacting to news of the order, the bishops issued a statement in which they called for consideration on how to create employment and promote security without…
Rebuilding of Iraqi Christian communities begins
The Chaldean Patriarchate in Iraq has begun to distribute funds to dioceses and parishes to begin the rebuilding of communities in areas liberated from so-called Islamic State (ISIS). As Patriarch Raphael Louis Sako I led a delegation to the Nineveh Plain las week to view for himself the damage inflicted on homes and churches by…
Vatican Roundup
Order of Malta Grand Master resigns The grand master of the Knights of Malta has resigned after Pope Francis declared all actions undertaken by him since the December dismissal of Grand Chancellor Albrecht Freiherr von Boeselager “null and void”. According to the National Catholic Register, Fra’ Matthew Festing was summoned to an audience with Pope…
March for life draws huge crowds
Students from the Diocese of Lansing, Michigan hold signs during the annual March for Life in Washington DC on January 27. Photo: CNS
Doing nothing is simply not an option
Dear Editor, In regard to the incident on The Late Late Show two weeks ago where the Eucharist was openly mocked and ridiculed, it’s difficult to know what was the worst aspect of the whole sorry episode. Was it the ignorance, the gratuitous contempt shown, the studied insult to those who actually pay to keep…
The peril of moving from a natural state
Dear Editor, Prof. William Reville asserts that defining meaning in our lives is a precursor to happiness, as he concords with author Emily Esfahani Smith in her book, The Power of Meaning (IC, 12/1/2017). Taking this approach is to miss the whole point of happiness, that it is the natural state of a human being.…
A year without spending
Michelle McGagh Michelle McGagh describes how she saved £22,000 in just one year “You’re not buying anything? At all? For a whole year?” This is the phrase that I’ve heard a million times, usually followed by: “I could never do that!” And it’s true, most people don’t want to give up spending and treating themselves…
Casting a net for Christ
Stephanie Moriarty Stephanie Moriarty describes the fun of youth ministry in Cork This time last year, I was sitting at a hard desk in a freezing cold school wearing a scratchy school uniform. I was probably in class listening to my teacher prepare us for the dreaded Leaving Cert. Now, I’m sitting on the top…








