Candles still flicker in Bethlehem, prayers are still whispered in Nablus, and weary hearts still dare to hope that peace might yet come to this land, writes Justin Robinson OSB In searching for words that capture the spirit of our times, many in the Middle East turn to a line by Antonio Gramsci that feels as…
By Frank Russell Each May since 1958 thousands of military personnel from European countries and beyond descend on the small town of Lourdes in the southwest of France to celebrate the International Military Pilgrimage there. This unique pilgrimage was initiated to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the Apparition of Our Lady in 1858 to…
As Christians there is the pastoral dimension which we are mandated by our faith to fulfil in our service to others, writes Tony Carroll It has been a difficult few weeks for those living, working and supporting loved ones in nursing homes. The ninety percent of Ireland’s thirty thousand nursing home residents who had previously…
Organ donation is a beautiful act of altruism Dear Editor, the article titled ‘Rescind new organ donation law says leading theologian’ was published on page 3 of the June 19 edition of your newspaper. In the piece, Fr Vincent Twomey is quoted as saying: “In the first place, it assumes, that after death, our bodies…
By Julieann Moran In this Jubilee Year, we are invited to be ‘Pilgrims of Hope’, purposeful travellers on a path guided by the Holy Spirit. That path, for the Church today, is called ‘synodality’. But what is Synodality? Synodality is the way the Church listens, discerns, and walks together. For me, synodality is not simply…
Christians in Syria are reeling after a suicide bombing struck a Greek Orthodox church in Damascus during a June 22 Divine Liturgy. At least 20 were killed and more than 60 injured on Sunday after an attacker, reported to be armed and wearing an explosive vest, entered Mar Elias church in the city’s Dweila neighbourhood.…
Sacrifice is the most important of the external acts of religion writes Fr Kevin E. O’Reilly It might come as a surprise to many to learn that religion is in fact a virtue. It in fact pertains to the virtue of justice. To be more precise, it is a potential part of justice. Justice involves…
Telling the truth is dangerous: how Robert Dudley Edwards changed Irish history forever Neasa MacErlean (Tartaruga Books, £11.99 / €14.00) By Ciaran Brady Biographies and (worse) autobiographies of historians have become so common that one might imagine they were immensely interesting which, given the generally unexciting lives of scholars, they are not. There are,…
If you have heard of Madagascar, you likely know the cartoon version better than the reality. King Julian is quite the character, bringing the uniqueness of the lemur to life. Last week I had the good fortune of meeting a lemur in the flesh in Madagascar and they have as much personality as Julian. Unique…
The whole concern of doctrine and its teaching must be directed to the love that never ends. That is a grand vision for life, not just something the Vatican says, writes Fr Chris Hayden. There’s nothing new about the phrase, ‘The Vatican says…’ There are, of course, many versions, such as ‘According to the Vatican,’…