People were terrified, houses were burned, attacked and looted, petrol bombs, masonry and other missiles were hurled at police, writes Baroness Nuala O’Loan There was a palpable feeling of fear around Ballymena for a few days last week. Terrible violence erupted without warning. Those who have come from distant lands to live in the town…
In the four short weeks since Pope Francis died, we have seen the gathering of the Cardinals from all the corners of the earth, the papal election, the inauguration on Sunday of Cardinal Robert Prevost as the new Pope, Leo XIV, and his first public Mass as Pope. It is quite extraordinary that the Catholic…
The election of Pope Francis on March 13, 2013, following the unprecedented retirement of the scholarly, gentle, spiritual Pope Benedict came as a huge surprise to many of us. In my lifetime there have been seven popes: Pius XII, St John XXIII, St Paul VI, St John Paul I, St John Paul II, Benedict XVI…
The families of people who were murdered during the Troubles face new horrors too regularly, writes Nuala O’Loan Last Sunday I attended the annual Remembrance Mass for the Disappeared at Armagh Cathedral. As I listened to St Luke’s account of the seizing, interrogation, torture and crucifixion of Jesus, I contemplated the horror and terror of…
Each time we leave Mass we are told to “go in peace” Our mission is “to love and serve the Lord”. What does this mean for each of us? The recent final document of the Synod last November tells us what it is to be a Catholic “each according to their diverse roles – within…
The former Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland has called on the Irish Government to establish its own inquiry into the Omagh bombing to create a clear picture of the tragedy. Baroness Nuala O’Loan investigated the August 15, 1998 incident in which 29 people and two unborn children died, describing it as the “single worst terrorist…
Saturday August 15, 1998 was a glorious summer day. Like thousands of others, I will never forget it. At approximately 3.05pm that afternoon a massive terrorist bomb exploded in Omagh. Three telephone calls were made, the first at 2.29pm warning that a bomb was going to detonate in the town. Police were clearing the streets…
Last Sunday the Feast of the Baptism of Jesus marked the end of the Christmas period. Jesus moved from his private life – the carpenter son of Mary and Joseph – into his brief public life: the three short years of his ministry. We are told, “while Jesus after his own baptism was at prayer,…
Fundamental to our faith is our belief in the sanctity of human life, from conception to natural end, because all life comes from God. This eternal truth informs all we do. In the secular world there is no belief in God, and, for many, little belief in the sanctity of human life. Those who have…
Irish politicians may well be looking warily on the US election results as they move into the race for power. There can be no doubt that Donald Trump won the election because he was listening to what mattered to the people of the United States, and planning to address their very real concerns which echo…