Advent often goes overlooked these days, but it’s a spiritual treasure to be plundered, writes Jason Osborne Advent is upon us, like a thief in the night. Beginning last Sunday, November 28, it will run right through to Christmas Eve. Pointing out the beginning and end of Advent may seem like a moot point to…
Dublin archdiocese is hopeful that parishes could be in line for an insurance payout to make up for lost collections when churches were forced to suspend Masses by the Government. According to the recently-filed 2020 financial report for the parishes, the archdiocese “considers there is a valid claim under the business interruption clause of the…
A recent poll found that the majority of people believe that women should be informed about alternatives to abortion before going ahead with the procedure, with Pro-Life Campaign spokesperson Eilís Mulroy saying women are currently being “kept in the dark about abortion alternatives”. An Amárach poll commissioned by the PLC found that 89% of 1,000…
An upcoming conference, Concerned about Covid-19 Vaccines?, is seeking to dispel the confusion that’s gathered around the safety and morality of Covid-19 vaccines from a Catholic and scientific perspective, according to one of the panellists, Dr Orla Nolan. Speaking to The Irish Catholic newspaper, Senior Clinical Pharmacist and experienced medical safety assessor Dr Nolan said…
Last week we discussed the practicalities of getting married, but a more topical question might be how to date well in Ireland in 2021, writes Jason Osborne Dating is difficult, there can be no doubt about it. Dating in its current form is only a recent-enough development, but finding a suitable spouse has always been…
The COP26 climate summit in Glasgow is over and has widely been received as not having delivered enough. Climate activist Greta Thunberg lambasted the talks as a “failure”, echoing the sentiments of many commentators since the conference’s close. Climate fight The perceived failure of humanity’s ‘last, best hope’ in the climate fight is unlikely to…
Labour’s education spokesman Aodhán Ó Ríordáin was greeted with sustained applause after he shouted “let’s get them out” in relation to parish-owned Catholic schools. He made the call at the party’s annual conference at the weekend. He said that the practice of religious patronage of schools needed to be ended, adding: “If that requires a referendum we should do it…
Nearly 20% of Irish women changed their minds about getting an abortion in 2020, according to HSE figures obtained by Laois-Offaly TD Carol Nolan. There were 6,455 abortions in Ireland in the first trimester of pregnancy in 2020, but 8,057 women had an initial consultation with a doctor about receiving an abortion. This has been…
Covid-19 may have struck “at the very heart” of the Church’s outreach and ministry to the sick, the dying and the bereaved, but it “could not, and did not, and will not destroy” the hope and belief that God is with those who are suffering, Archbishop Eamon Martin told those gathered at Knock last Saturday.…
The migrant crisis at the Poland-Belarus border is the latest instantiation of people being used in an authoritarian power-play, writes Jason Osborne from Poland Recent weeks have seen thousands of migrants driven to the Polish-Belarusian border by the authorities in Belarus, prompting the chairman of the Polish bishops’ conference’s urgings that the Faithful “pray fervently”…