90-year-old Sr Mary Neville MSHR tells Ruadhán Jones about life on the missions   “Holy Rosary Sisters, we love you,” sang the group of Cameroonian women in one of the Irish order’s houses in Dublin city. “And we’ve come to say thank you.” The women had gathered in Dublin to say thank you to the…

Historian Jessica Wärnberg explores the history of Rome through the eyes of the popes, she tells Ruadhán Jones When you walk through the streets of Rome, there’s an aspect you may take for granted, without considering the influence it has had in shaping this once pagan city into the home of Christianity – the papacy.…

If you stick your head in a sewer don’t be surprised by the smell, a Dublin priest tells Chai Brady Research into the idea of magic throughout history and understanding human reasoning regarding the supernatural is not a unique concept. However, even the academic study of topics such as witchcraft and the occult can open…

Spiritual exercises can help give freedom to address the crutch of addiction, Chai Brady hears What is it that really matters to you personally? A basic question that should be asked of any person suffering an addiction, and only the individual is able to answer, according to a Jesuit priest based in the North, who…

Scholarship winners and donors were honoured at a reception given by the Loyola Institute, Trinity College Dublin, on Thursday  November 2. The Loyola Institute is dedicated to education and research in theology in the Catholic Christian tradition and offers degrees at postgraduate level, both taught and by research. “For many of our students’ scholarships are…

Synodality is about rebalancing decision-making in the Church between bishops and laypeople, Prof. Massimo Faggioli tells Michael Kelly Sometimes in Church history, an idea that has been brewing for some time just starts to percolate down, and its moment arrives. The Second Vatican Council (1962-65) arrived almost out of nowhere when the elderly Pontiff John…

Dioceses must avoid clericalist thinking in pastoral shake ups, Fr Tom Whelan tells Ruadhán Jones As dioceses grapple with the unchartered waters of the vocation’s crisis, there is a danger that plans for diocesan shake-ups will carry over a “clericalised” vision of the Church, a respected liturgist and theologian has warned. Spiritan Fr Tom Whelan…

Peace is possible but it requires dialogue, forgiveness and prayer, writes Bishop Alphonsus Cullinan On October 23, an Israeli woman Yocheved Lifshitz, who was being freed by Hamas militants turned and shaking his hand said twice to one of her captors, Shalom (peace). A search on YouTube will show footage of the hurried but profound…