NI abortions double after termination law change

The rate of abortions in the North almost doubled in the three years since the abortion law was changed, new statistics reveal. As of May 23, 5,648 abortions have taken place in the North, figures released by the Department of Health to Both Lives Matter showed. Since Westminster’s controversial intervention in 2020 to forcefully legalise…

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Our sisters in Faith: the medieval nuns of Ireland

Brides of Christ: Women and Monasticism in Medieval and Early Modern Ireland, edited by Martin Browne OSB, Tracy Collins, Bronagh McShane and Colmán Ó Clabaigh OSB (Four Courts Press, €50.00/ £45.00) Patricia Rumsey As the number of candidates for religious life apparently dwindles, so the wider interest in religious life – and particularly women’s monastic life…

What justifies prayers for the dead?

Jenna Marie Cooper Q: Praying for the dead: where can this be found in the Bible? I don’t want any reference to the Catechism, thanks. A: As you allude to in your question, many of the details regarding the Church’s teaching on Purgatory (and the utility and appropriateness of praying for the dead) is part…

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Searching for an ethical compass in modern times

How to be good. What Socrates can teach us about the art of living well,  by Massimo Pigliucci  (Basic Books, £10.99 /€12.99) The Power of Ideas. Words of Faith and Wisdom,  by Jonathan Sacks  (Hodder and Stoughton, £20.00 /€20.00) Frank Litton Both these books inform our moral compass, helping to sharpen its direction and deepen…

The two greatest commandments

Deacon Greg Kandra Ex 22:20-26 Ps 18:2-3, 3-4, 47, 51 1 Thes 1:5c-10 Mt 22:34-40   Anyone who has spent time watching reruns of Law and Order knows the first rule of being a good witness in a courtroom: Never answer a question that you haven’t been asked. Stay on point. Don’t elaborate. Keep it…

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