Paul KeenanA worker of the Piacenti restoration centre works on a mosaic in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, West Bank. Photo: CNS
Restoring the sacred
Category: News
Soccer star ‘asked God’ for second chance at Euros
Courtney McGrailCristiano Ronaldo revealed he “asked God” for another chance at victory with his native Portugal after losing out to Greece in the Euro 2004 final on home turf in Lisbon. “I am very happy. I have been looking for this for a long time, since 2004. I asked God for another chance at this because…
Assisted reproduction centre plans criticised
Staff reporter Plans by a leading assisted reproduction centre to introduce to Ireland the use of anonymously donated embryos have been criticised as “illegal” and “unjust”. Dr Thomas Finegan’s criticism’s come after it was confirmed that Clane Fertility Clinic in Kildare has been acquired by Spain’s Institut Marques. Dr Finegan, who is a researcher at the…
Vatican’s old guard may have notched a Pyrrhic victory
John L. Allen Jr.
On July 9, Pope Francis issued an edict restoring several financial powers to the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (APSA), taking them away from Australian Cardinal George Pell and his Secretariat for the Economy. With power, however, also comes the blame if something goes wrong. There are many ways of analysing the…
Catholics must embrace identity as creative minority, bishop urges
Greg Daly
Faithful Catholics must accept that they are a minority in modern Ireland, but must resist any temptation to seek solace in ghettos, Waterford and Lismore’s Bishop Phonsie Cullinan has said. Dr Cullinan was speaking in Maynooth at Evangelium, a Catholic apologetics conference for young people aged between 18 and 35. The conference, now in its…
Call for more support for uni chaplains
Cathal BarryA chaplain at one of the largest higher education institutions in Ireland has spoken of how chaplaincy can be a “lonely” career. Fr Alan Hilliard, who works at Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT), admitted that working as a coordinator of chaplaincy can be a “lonely place because nobody knows what you really are doing”. Speaking…
Denied their American dream
Police shootings are just one burden for Black America, writes Paul Keenan
‘Sing, my tongue, the saviour’s glory’
James McDonough receives his First Holy Communion from his newly ordained uncle, Fr Conor McDonough OP, while James’ parents Edel and Fergal look on at Fr McDonagh’s Mass of Thanksgiving in the Church of St Mary on the Hill, The Claddagh, Galway. Photo: Caroline Smith
Dublin football star praises ‘powerful’ work of priests
Staff Reporter Dublin football star Jack McCaffrey has praised the “powerful” work of priests in Africa after a recent trip there. The Clontarf native, who describes himself as an atheist, revealed his new found respect for clergy following his visit to Ethiopia with the international aid charity Goal. “Look, a lot of people get a…
Back to the future?
Calls by the Vatican’s liturgy chief for priests to celebrate Mass facing East from the first Sunday of Advent have met with mixed reactions. Speaking in London at the annual Sacra Liturgia conference, Guinean Cardinal Robert Sarah, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of Sacraments, said: “It is very important that…