Pope prays for nun murdered in Haiti Pope Francis has offered prayers for a Spanish missionary sister killed in Haiti. At the conclusion of events marking the canonisation of St Teresa of Kolkata in Rome on September 4, the Pope recalled Sr Isabel Sola Macas, murdered in a robbery on September 2. “At this moment, I would like to remember those…
Courtney McGrail
Extremist pressure on Indonesian Christians continues
In a sign of rising tensions for the Christian community in Indonesia, Muslim extremists have interrupted a Mass in Central Java, little over a week after a priest was attacked by an axe-wielding assailant at another celebration. During the celebration in the parish of St Peter Purwosari, near Surakarta, two men in the congregation of…
The Church might be forced to move on celibacy
We should repeal the Church law that priests must remain unmarried, writes Fr Des Wilson
An admirer of Saint Teresa
Dear Editor, I read with interest David Quinn’s article (IC 8/9/16) on the critics of Mother Teresa who have been so vocal in recent days. Strange though it may sound Mother Teresa did have one rather unlikely admirer. In his autobiography written some years ago, Bob Geldof speaks very favourably of Mother Teresa. The work is…
Sin and the environment
Dear Editor, While I am enthused by Pope Francis’ recent calls during World Day of Prayer for Care of Creation, for environmental destruction to be classified as a sin, I do wonder if a more nuanced perspective is required. Is it right to classify certain behaviours that cause ecological harm as sin, if there is…
Sir John Keane: A titled maverick
Sir John Keane and Cappoquin House in time of war and revolution, by Glascott J.R.M. Symes (Four Courts Press, €9.95)
The Muslim Schoolboy’s Prayer
The World of Books
Church groups sow faith seeds at National Ploughing Championships
The Legion of Mary, the Franciscans, the Daughters of Charity and St Joseph of Cluny Sisters will be among those raising the flag for faith at this year’s National Ploughing Championship which takes place from September 20-22 at Screggan, Tullamore. Other Church-related exhibitors include EWTN and Trócaire. The Church of Ireland diocese of Kildare…
Gabon prelate calls for mediation in electoral crisis
The leading Catholic prelate in the West African nation of Gabon has issued a call for an international mediator to solve the political crisis that has arisen since recent presidential elections. After the incumbent Ali Bongo claimed victory by a narrow margin of just 6,000 votes in the August 27 poll, violence erupted amid claims…
Bishops call for action in Nigeria as famine grows
The Catholic bishops of Nigeria have led calls for the government to act on the nation’s economic woes as a famine of unprecedented scale threatens the nation. While signs of famine have been growing in recent months in the country’s north-east, fomented by the ongoing activities of the militant Islamist group Boko Haram, the situation…