With the papal visit imminent we can expect some related documentaries, and on Tuesday of last week RTÉ1 was first in line. Rebel Pope was a docudrama from National Geographic, and while it was worth watching I wasn’t that impressed. The most interesting aspects dealt with revolutionary times in Argentina when Jorge Bergoglio, later Pope…
While the à la carte variety of Catholicism is thoroughly accepted and even lauded in mainstream media there are inherent inconsistencies. If, say, a vile racist people trafficker was claiming to be a Catholic in good standing, would the usual suspects be as tolerant as they are when the Church’s teachings on sexuality are dismissed?…
With the increased popularity of podcasts, it’s worth noting the extensive archive of RTÉ Radio 1’s Documentary on One series. Last Saturday’s episode, ‘Sisters’, was Emma Decker’s engaging exploration of the lives of her grand aunts Sr Joe and Sr Gabrielle, who went to the US as teens to become nuns. They worked primarily with…
Last weekend saw the welcome return of Sunday Morning Live on BBC One. It’s more magazine style than its alter ego The Big Questions but still features some weighty debates on topical religious, social or ethical issues. First up was timely discussion on youth mental health, especially in the context of exam stress and social…
I find it useful to tune in to Catholic news sources from abroad to get a broader view on the Catholic world, and to avoid being confined to the prevailing narrative of the secular media at home. EWTN News Nightly is particularly useful. Last Friday’s episode, for example, covered a wide range of issues. First up…
I was in the need of some good news stories last week, something to lift the spirits and restore some pride in the country. Nationwide (RTÉ1) provided the goods as it often does, in its own low key way, and with unfailing respect for its subjects. On Monday night they had a special show on the…
Some of you will be glad I’m not going to spend a full column on the referendum but I have to say I write this part with a heavy heart, a sense of bereavement at having lost something special, a sense of dread for the little lives that will be lost under our shiny new…
Sometimes it seems to me that the referendum on the Eighth Amendment is about more than just abortion. Of course, primarily it is, but there are other significant strands. This struck me particularly listening to the interview with An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar on Today With Seán O’Rourke last Friday. When ‘yes’ campaigners are asked some…
With the referendum on the Eighth Amendment fast approaching it’s hard to keep up with all the media coverage, but a few items stand out. Instead of doing a head-to-head debate which might have allowed for claims to be interrogated, News at One (RTÉ Radio 1) had two obstetricians on different days. As journalists just…
With RTÉ’s Leap of Faith gone into sleep mode for the summer, you wouldn’t go far wrong checking out Sunday Sequence (BBC Radio Ulster) for some stimulating religious and ethical discussion with an Irish flavour. Last Sunday morning it felt like something of a time warp with issues like land grabbing, slavery, and whether children…