Two things especially struck me on my recent visit to Jordan: one was the respect, even reverence, accorded to Christian holy places. And the other was the way in which the Muslim people in Jordan observed their own Ramadan traditions. Fasting Most people my son Ed and I encountered when travelling in this peaceful, stable…
One of the problems with ‘assisted dying’ – now under parliamentary discussion in both Ireland and Britain – is the very phrase itself. In truth, a proper opportunity for ‘assisted dying’ can be entirely Christian and supportive. I mean in the sense that a dying person should have someone with them, to calm and care,…
There has been, obviously, much discussion about the role of women in the national sphere recently; but one of the groups drawing least attention is what we might call ‘the tribe of widows’. When I was involved, with others, in forming the Irish Women’s Liberation Movement in 1970, the position of widows was one of…
“Thankfully, it’s not my field of expertise, so I don’t have to write about it,” I heard a journalist remark last week, in relief. He was referring to the Gaza-Israel conflict, how agonising it is, and how difficult it would be to produce a balanced commentary on these terrible events. On the one hand, the…
So, my cousin and I fell to talking about how differently children are brought up these days in contrast to our childhood, or even to our time as younger mothers – a perennial topic among grandmothers. Modern parenthood focuses on giving children choices, and letting them voice their needs freely. Children should not be coerced…
The Hollywood mogul, Sam Goldwyn, coined many amusing quotations still in currency – his way of declining an invitation was “Include me out!” He most famously set a maxim for our age when he suggested that public attention is always helpful – “Any publicity is good publicity.” It doesn’t turn out to be true in…
There’s a theory that if women ruled the world, the world would be a nicer, kinder place – and politics less confrontational. It hasn’t always been borne out by female leaders from history, who, from Catherine the Great to Margaret Thatcher have included warrior queens and steely autocrats. But now, Stormont is carrying out a…
For some time now, we’ve been told that Ireland is becoming ever more secular, and thus, faith symbols must be removed from public spaces. Mother Mary Aikenhead may have founded Irish nursing, but her portrait no longer graces the hospitals she established. And yet, surprisingly, we now have a new public holiday – this weekend…
What do the Scottish poet Robbie Burns and St Paul the Evangelist have in common? As I’ve only recently learned, they share January 25 as their special day. The Scots eat haggis and drink whisky on ‘Burns Night’ to commemorate their national bard, who so memorably authored ‘Auld Lang Syne’, and ‘To a Mouse’. St…
We are currently within the octave of Prayer for the Unity of Christians, and seldom in recent history has the spirit of Christian unity appeared more needed. Yet as I sat listening to a gentle homily about how Jesus Christ means peace – peace in our hearts, peace with our neighbours, and in the world…