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 his book An Irish Pilgrimage Guide to the Holy Land was published in 2022.
Editor’s Comment “If you ever wonder what the relevance of the Faith might be for people in modern Ireland try a death bed,” a priest once told me. He was speaking about one of the most profound aspects of his ministry – accompanying a departing soul on their final journey and comforting and consoling their…
Editor’s Comment Much focus in recent days has, rightly, been on the role that Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II has played in reconciliation. The late queen has been a keen supporter of the Irish peace process and has played no small role in building bridges between both Ireland and Britain and the two communities in the…
Editor’s Comment After the reforms of the Second Vatican Council (1962-65) great emphasis was placed on the restoration of the ancient order of the permanent diaconate. For many centuries, diaconate had been seen as just one more stop on the road to priesthood. The Church wanted to restore the tradition of the early Church where…
Most Irish Catholics feel woefully ill-equipped to share their faith, but the desire they have to do so is heartening writes Michael Kelly “Our spiritual growth is stunted. As adult members of the Church, we are not sufficiently grounded in our faith, and do not have the confidence in speaking about our love of God,”…
Catholics want greater transparency, participation in decision-making and accountability within parish and diocesan structures, Archbishop Eamon Martin of Armagh has said. Publishing the synodal synthesis document this afternoon (Thursday) – which was this week forwarded to the Holy See – the Primate of All-Ireland acknowledged that the report reflects the challenges of “a major decline…
The Vatican has warned that the synodal process in Germany cannot adopt new approaches to the Church’s teaching on doctrines and morals. It will be seen by observers as a shot across the bow of other synodal processes insisting that they not veer from traditional Catholic understandings. “It seems necessary to make it clear that…
The synod process currently underway in Ireland is being replicated all across the Catholic world. To be sure, it is being met with varying degrees of enthusiasm – but it is a testament to the unity of Catholicism that the Pope is able to announce such an ambitious programme of consultation and within months parishes…
In a 6-3 decision today (Friday), the US Supreme Court overturned its nearly 50-year-old decision in Roe vs Wade that legalised abortion in the US. The move has been widely welcomed by Irish pro-life activists. The court’s 213-page ruling in Dobbs vs Jackson Women’s Health Organisation was not totally unexpected due to the leak of…
Editor’s Comment Voters in Colombia took to the polls at the weekend and in so doing elected that country’s first left-wing president. Gustavo Petro, the former mayor of the capital Bogota, is also an ex-paramilitary. His background as someone who took up arms against the government is attracting a lot of media attention internationally –…
To say that President Michael D. Higgins has caused dismay among the Irish missionary community would be to put it mildly. Which is ironic given that many of the same missionaries now scratching their heads at Mr Higgins’ ill-judged intervention on the recent massacre in Nigeria would have traditionally greatly admired his work. Mr Higgins…