When the Bishops of Ireland launched the Synodal pathway in March 2021, the key question proposed was: “What does God want from the Church in Ireland at this time?”. Since then, this foundational question has been like a base note in a symphony played by an orchestra made up of many members collaborating over the…
Seamus Mulconry in conversation with Education Nation This week’s guest on the Education Nation podcast is Seamus Mulconry, the CEO of the Catholic Primary Schools Management Association (CPSMA), a key stakeholder in Irish education and the national body supporting the Boards of Management and leaders of almost 3,000 Catholic primary schools across the country. Originally…
We are a little less than a year away from the death of Pope Francis. Usually, distance is needed to assure perspective. It is difficult to fully appreciate a painting, for instance, when you are standing too close to it. So too, I would have thought, when writing an account of a papacy, especially one…
Assisi has always drawn crowds. But this year is different. As the Church marks the 800th anniversary of the death of St Francis, almost 450,000 pilgrims have registered to venerate the mortal remains of the Poverello of Assisi during a rare, month-long public display in the Basilica of St Francis. Among the Franciscan friars welcoming…
Darragh Kelehan’s journey towards running prayer groups, pilgrimages to Medjugorje, and Life in the Spirit seminars has not been linear. Mr Kelehan, who was born and raised in the Catholic faith in Blanchardstown, turned away from God in his adolescence, and it took him 21 years and the ability to completely surrender himself to bring…
The monks of La Trappe Abbey have announced they are considering leaving their historic monastery by 2028, citing a shortage of vocations and the difficulties of maintain the site. In a statement released earlier this month, the community said the possibility of departure would mark “a page of history that is about to be turned,”…
By Richard Maher and Mario Luis López Durán At 5 o’clock in the evening on March 19, 1739, one of the great bells of Palma de Mallorca’s La Seu Cathedral, known as N’Antònia, knelled the toll of Extreme Unction. Don Patricio Laules, or Sir Patrick Lawless as he was known by his Irish contemporaries, was…
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine completely changed people’s lives into a constant horror that has already been going on for a fifth year. Four years of fear for one’s own life and the lives of loved ones. Ireland became a second home for tens of thousands of Ukrainians—refugees from the war. A country they came…
Study Groups on relevant questions from the Synthesis’ Report of the First Session of the XVI General Ordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops were set up and Study Group No. 5 looked at women in ministries. Here is an extract. Fundamental Issues (III): Ministries Turning to the concrete forms of women’s participation in…
The splendid Maggio Musicale building in Florence was the venue for the third annual European festival of journalism and media freedom. As the programme explained, the festival is a “three-day event where citizens can come together to explore crucial themes shaping our relationship with information.” The chief organiser is the Centre for Media Pluralism and…