The leading US Democratic candidate has said she believes ISIS’ campaign against Christians constitutes genocide. Hillary Clinton was asked at a New Hampshire meeting whether she would join faith and secular leaders from across the political divide “in calling what is happening by its proper name, genocide”. She replied that she would do so “because…
South Africa’s Catholic justice and peace commission has called for a halt to nuclear procurement plans and a referendum on the issue, claiming that the risks of adding nuclear energy to the financially beleaguered country’s power grid outweigh its economic benefits. According to a statement from the commission’s chairman, Kimberley’s Bishop Abel Gabuza, the country…
‘An ocean of mercy transcends human misery’ – Pope God’s mercy transcends the misery that so often marks human experience, Pope Francis has said. “A torrent of misery, swollen by sin, seems to contradict the fullness of time brought by Christ”, he said in a homily at St Peter’s Basilica on January 1, asking, “how can the fullness of time have come when…
The coffin of Gisela Mota, mayor of Temixco, Mexico, is carried from her home. Ms Mota was killed on January 2, one day after taking her oath of office. Cuernavaca’s Bishop Ramon Castro Castro said the murder had clearly been intended to send the message “if you don’t cooperate with organised crime, look at what’s…
Dear Editor, I wonder if any readers are bothered by the latest trend of using Catholic churches as concert halls featuring various artists. Is this not side-lining the Divine Presence and replacing it with a singer, who receives the sole focus of the attention of the congregation present? It seems to be a very popular…
Dear Editor, It is a pity that your initial coverage (IC 13/11/2014) of Archbishop Michael Neary’s homily to the Association of Papal Knights did not make it past the first half of the sermon, else Deirdre Uí Ghoibín (Letters, IC 04/12/2014) might have been saved from her uncharitable assessment. The archbishop’s homily was remarkable for…
Dear Editor, Without doubt the two most powerful prayers of the Catholic faith are the Angelus and the Rosary. Both are of very long standing and recited all around the world, so what could possibly be missing from them? The exact same thing that had been missing from the Eucharistic prayers of the Mass, i.e.…
Dear Editor, In the autumn 1944, the Western allies had the deluded idea that the Wehrmacht was beaten and that it was only a force of old men and children. What shocked them with their defeat at Arnhem in September 1944, and the Ardennes attack two months later, was the transformation of a supposedly defeated enemy into…
Dear Editor, The Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference must be congratulated on their excellent pastoral statement on the ‘Meaning of Marriage’. However, it is a pity the illustrations used were of the stereotyped family so beloved of the advertising industry: a handsome guy with a beautiful wife, but not more than two children, preferably one boy…
Dear Editor, While I enjoyed Prof. Reville’s article ‘Science vs Religion’ (IC 04/12/2014), I was bemused to say the least that his view of “the function of religion is to teach us how to live good lives”. Maybe this is the function of certain religions but to me, as a Catholic, and based on Christ’s…