Sunday was a tale of two different countries and two very different ceremonies. In London, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II presided at commemorations to mark the centenary of the Armistice that brought an end to World War I (1914-1918). The prayers were led by the female Anglican Bishop of London, Sarah Mullally. In Dublin, meanwhile, Michael…
This week marks the centenary of the Armistice that eventually brought an end to the Great War (1914-1918). It came into effect at 11 am on November 11, 1918 now famously remembered as the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. It was one of the deadliest conflicts in human history with…
Ask any Catholic serious about their Faith what the biggest challenge the Church faces is and they will almost universally say a variation of the same thing: reaching out and engaging young people. Often when a priest is assigned to a new parish, he will be met with earnest parishioners who implore him “you’ll have…
Down & Connor Faith and Life Convention The radical challenge set before Catholics is to learn a new language, writes Michael Kelly One of the Pope’s closest advisers has urged the Church in Ireland to continue to work to build a culture of co-responsibility between laypeople and clergy. Cardinal Óscar Rodríguez Maradiaga was speaking…
In just over three weeks’ time voters will be asked whether or not to delete the reference to blasphemy from the Constitution. It will pass by an overwhelming majority. Only the Islamic community are likely to oppose the move. Catholic bishops have already expressed the view that God can look after himself. In reality, the…
Next month’s Synod of Bishops in Rome will focus on the issue of youth and vocational discernment. Often when we speak of ‘vocation’ in the Church we mean the specific and unique call to priesthood and religious life. This is hugely important and as recent research in this newspaper showed, the situation in terms of…
For those who participated in events surrounding the World Meeting of Families or the Papal visit, feelings of joy will continue to warm their hearts. Whether it was in the intensive preparations that took place in the dioceses around the country, the pastoral congress in the RDS or events led by Pope Francis this was…