Susan Korah When St John Paul II arrived in Ottawa in 1984, the first pontiff to visit this country, greeting him in Ottawa was Canada’s 18th prime minister, Brian Mulroney, one of 10 Catholics who have held that office since 1867. The “little guy from Baie Comeau,” raised by Irish Catholic working-class parents, had come…
Category: Feature
The difficulties of predicting the next pope
John Allen was in Los Angeles to give a talk to Catholics entitled ‘What’s Next? The Today and the Tomorrow of Francis’s Papacy’. The Irish Catholic sat down with John and asked him the question that will be on his audience’s lips – who’s the next Pope going to be and what will his style of governance be like? “Well, let me…
How a shy Irish farm boy changed countless lives in Uganda
Laura Dodson shy Irish farm boy taught to be open to God’s gifts and opportunities in every harvest, egg clutch and milk bucket courageously responded yes to God’s call to priesthood. He ultimately became pastor of a sleepy central Florida parish ripe for awakening to God’s ways that would then transform not only their parish…
Haircuts and hot meals – the Capuchin Day Centre at work
Brian Friel The Capuchin Day Centre for Homeless People is located on Bow Street in Dublin 7 at the rear of the Capuchin Friary on Church Street. It is an initiative of the Irish Capuchin Franciscan Friars who first came to Ireland in the early 1600’s and have stayed with and supported the Irish people…
Paving the path to freedom for the most challenged homeless
A person that can retreat to a place they call home, where they feel safe and secure, will undoubtedly be in a better position to seek support to help themselves out of a spiral of mental health, addiction or other related issues. Ireland now has more than 13,500 people who are homeless, which includes almost…
The chinks of light in an embattled rental market
At this stage, everyone is well-familiar with the trials and tribulations of those grappling with Ireland’s housing situation. Whether you’re looking to buy or to rent, the plain fact of the matter is that there aren’t enough houses out there for everyone. Put simply, this is a thorn in the side of all looking to…
Building trust to help people off the streets
Those struggling with homelessness often become “closed off, guarded and secretive” in order to protect themselves, but Franciscan-founded Merchants Quay Ireland (MQI) in Dublin City Centre offer an environment in which people feel respected and safe. From a platform of trust, staff can assist people to access physical and mental health and addiction services. As…
Cork Simon’s shelter ‘packed to the rafters’
If there is a scale of how critical the housing crisis in Cork can be, it’s at the upper end, the head of Cork Simon told The Irish Catholic. The charity’s shelter is “packed to the rafters” every night, says Paul Sheehan, adding that what started out as a 47-bed shelter now typically accommodates 74…
Sr de Pazzi Finn – eight decades preparing children for life
At 80 years of age, having left school over 62 years ago, it’s fair to assume that most of my teachers have, by now, passed on. There is one, however, who is still hale and hearty, whom I feel so privileged to have been taught by and whom I still speak with regularly. And the…
South Korean childlessness at the core of competing concerns
An Irish Columban in South Korea tells of turbulent times for the east Asian nation with looming conflict and vanishing children at the forefront, hears Jason Osborne After 48 years in South Korea, it’s fair to say that Irish Columban, Fr Donal O’Keeffe has his finger on this prosperous nation’s pulse, and right now it’s…