Heavily reliant on the tourism industry, Covid-19 threatens the livelihoods of many Christians in the Holy Land, writes Ruadhán Jones On February 6 of this year, in complete innocence of what was to come, The Irish Catholic announced our annual pilgrimage to the Holy Land – the name typically applied to an area comprising Israel,…

The story of the Church and individual clergymen during the civil conflict in the North deserves to be told, writes Michael Kelly Forty-one years ago this week, on September 29, 1979 Pope John Paul II travelled to Killineer, near Drogheda in Co. Louth and made a passionate plea for peace. It was the first day…

We cannot continue to see the planet and its resources as things for us to use as we wish writes Fr Hugh O’Donnell SDB Twenty years ago, in response to our ‘disfigurement’ of the earth, Pope John Paul talked of humans standing at the edge of an abyss. The only way we can avoid going…

The Sunday Gospel Fr Silvester O’Flynn OFM Cap. “Let me sing to my friend the song of his love for his vineyard.” These are the opening words of today’s first reading from Isaiah. However, it turns out to be a sad song about a neglected vineyard that produced sour wine. The Responsorial Psalm identifies the…

A renowned priest exorcist has said the coronavirus is a “dress rehearsal” before “the great tribulation” and that God is giving people a chance to reassess their current situation and turn their lives around. Fr Pat Collins CM, a Vincentian based in Blackrock in Dublin, has said that God did not send Covid-19 but that…

The challenge for the Church is to move to authentic co-responsibility between priests and people the new Bishop of Kilmore Martin Hayes tells Michael Kelly In his apostolic exhortation ‘Christus vivet’ published last year, Pope Francis spoke of the youthfulness of the Church and prayed: “Let us ask the Lord to free the Church from…

The Sunday Gospel Fr Silvester O’Flynn OFM Cap. There’s more trouble down the farm today. In last Sunday’s Gospel it was grumbling over wages in the vineyard; this Sunday (Matthew 21:28-31), it’s a father’s confrontation with a son who said he would do the job but he didn’t. Conversely, the other son stamped out in…

From her base in the Holy Land, Sligo-native Sister Bridget Tighe is working to alleviate a destitution most of us will never know, still less experience. General Director of Caritas Jerusalem, Sr Bridget is thoroughly rooted in the Middle East. Her first encounter with the area came through a missionary trip as part of her…

The Sunday Gospel Fr Silvester O’Flynn OFM Cap. “Why be envious because I am generous?” The story of the workers in the vineyard is not about paying a fair wage (Matt 20:1-16). The parable is about envy. Every worker got the agreed payment. The horrible aspect of envy is that it is a negative reaction…

Jason Osborne hears about Irish historical figure Kevin Barry One of Ireland’s most famous national figures is also one of its youngest. The story of Kevin Barry is one that resonates still in the hearts of those it encounters, the 18-year-old executed by the British on the morning of November 1, 1920, for his part…