Michael Kelly is an award-winning writer and broadcaster specialising in religious and social affairs. Born and raised in Northern Ireland, he attended the Pontifical University St Patrick’s College, Maynooth where he obtained degrees in philosophy and theology and the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome where he studieD social institutional communications. From 2002-2005 he was an Editor in the Central Information Service of Vatican Radio. In this role, he travelled with Pope St John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI on overseas trips. In 2005, he returned to Dublin to take up the position of Deputy Editor with The Irish Catholic newspaper, succeeding as Editor in 2012. In 2016, he was appointed Consulting Editor of Columba Books, the Dublin-based publisher of religious and spiritual books. He is a regular contributor to programmes on RTÉ, BBC, UTV, CNN and Al Jazeera. He also have extensive experience offering media training and coaching in the voluntary sector. Mr Kelly is a weekly columnist with Ireland’s largest-selling secular newspaper the Irish Independent and has been published in The Irish Times, the Irish Examiner, The Irish News, The Guardian, Our Sunday Visitor, Catholic World Report, the National Catholic Reporter and the National Catholic Register. He writes from Ireland for Catholic News Service of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. He is co-author with Austen Ivereigh of the best-selling book How to Defend the Faith Without Raising Your Voice. He is a frequent visitor to the Holy Land and is currently working on a new book on the holy places in the Holy Land which is due to be published in Autumn 2019.
The Stoic philosopher Epictetus observed almost 2,000 years ago that “it is impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he already knows”. I’ve thought about it a lot over the last week regarding the reaction to the mother and baby report. Some newspaper columnists have called on Judge Yvonne Murphy’s report to be set aside because –…
EXCLUSIVE A senior bishop has warned that if a significant number of people refuse to get the Covid-19 vaccine, more people may lose their lives to the virus. Bishop Kevin Doran – who has been one of the most outspoken pro-life voices in the Church in Ireland in recent decades – insisted that “Vaccination, as…
What was once a closed military zone has now been opened to pilgrims, writes Michael Kelly One of the highlights of any pilgrimage to the Holy Land now is a visit to the Qasr al-Yahud site in the West Bank where Jesus was baptised in the River Jordan. I first visited the site in 2007,…
There is no simple or singular story of the treatment of unmarried mothers in mother and baby homes and county homes. At the outset, I acknowledge that many former residents reject the use of the word ‘home’. The report of the commission investigating the treatment of the mothers and their children in the period from…
There is no simple or singular story of the treatment of unmarried mothers in mother and baby homes and county homes. At the outset, I acknowledge that many former residents reject the use of the word ‘home’. The report of the commission investigating the treatment of the mothers and their children in the period from…
A five-year investigation into the treatment of unmarried mothers in State-funded Church-run homes has said that the blame for their “harsh treatment” rests primarily with their families but that both the Church and State condoned this. The report of the ‘Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes and certain related matters’ was published this afternoon (Tuesday) and…
Archbishop Diarmuid Martin is widely – and correctly – credited with taking decisive action on the issue of child abuse. It was a point noted by his successor Dermot Farrell last week when he said: “Archbishop Martin accepted the leadership of the diocese at a challenging time in 2003. Since then, he has provided forceful…
The idea of journey is a central motif in our Faith. Whether it is Abraham leaving his homeland to go to the Promised Land or Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt – the People of God on the move is a constant. The Second Vatican Council (1962-65) describes the Church as being on a…
Today’s world is confusing, the cure is to think less about ourselves and more about others, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks tells Michael Kelly This interview was first published in the March 12 edition of The Irish Catholic. Rabbi Sacks died on November 7, 2020. May his memory be a blessing. Rabbi Jonathan Sacks is one of the…
An old Irish superstition is that at the stroke of midnight on December 31, those seeking good luck were recommended to enter their house through the front door and leave through the back. It’s not obvious to me how that particular custom arose, but like many superstitions the origins are clouded in a combination of…