Vatican II is only just beginning to bear fruit, Colm Fitzpatrick is told No other event springs faster to mind when conversing about radical changes in the Church than the occasion of the Second Vatican Council; an event which continues to reverberate in the hearts and minds of Christians today. With well over 50…
Questions of Faith There’s a common belief today among sceptics of Catholicism, and Christianity in general, that Jesus was just another pagan god, and so no different from the pagan deities that were believed in before him. This has become a popular internet conspiracy, and even some, though not many, scholars have endorsed this theory.…
A call from Sinn Féin for a State takeover of Catholic schools would trample on the rights of parents, theologian Dr John Murray has warned. Speaking in the Seanad last week, the party’s education spokesman Paul Gavan said “we must work towards ending the patronage system completely”. It is the patronage system that underpins the…
The Orange Order must drop its “out-of-date”, sectarian regulations and embrace more tolerant attitudes towards Catholics, a prominent Protestant minister has urged. Dr Ken Newell, a former Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, said there are “lingering elements” of sectarianism in the loyalist organisation, and that the Irish lodge should be more tolerant of…
A common attitude or approach towards different religions is to treat them as all equally true – we can’t prove which one is actually correct, and given that they all try to achieve the same thing, describing one particular religion as having more truth value than another just doesn’t make sense. This view is known…
Priests warn of ‘horrendous’ problems from EU clock change An EU plan that would see a different time-zone on either side of the border would leave parishioners not only divided by the border, but also by different clocks. Local priests have warned of “horrendous” confusion for parishioners with one saying “God help us” if…
Colm Fitzpatrick reports on the Pope’s visit to Morocco Greeted by King Mohammed VI, a steady rain, ululating women and cheering crowds, Pope Francis arrived in Rabat on March 30 for a 28-hour visit to Morocco. In a sign of great honour, the king rode in his limousine from the airport alongside Pope Francis…
Church communities and parish activities can play a vital role in tackling the problem of loneliness which is becoming more prevalent in Ireland, Waterford and Lismore’s Bishop Phonsie Cullinan has said. Bishop Cullinan has urged those feeling lonely or isolated to turn their heads towards the Church, where they will be welcomed by a supportive…
Questions of Faith It can be heart-wrenching when a couple experiences fertility problems that make bearing children through natural conception impossible. The inability to have children can cause severe emotional stress, and make the world seem like an unfair place. After a long period of anguish and discernment, many couples eventually find closure in their…
Irish Muslims should be “advocating far more loudly” for the rights of persecuted Christian Asia Bibi, who continues to be prevented from leaving Pakistan after blasphemy charges were dropped against her, a prominent Christian rights charity has said. National director of the organisation Aid to the Church in Need, Dr Michael Kinsella, has urged Muslims…