They’ve dubbed it, sarcastically, ‘Pray to Stay’: that’s the description given to some refugees from the Middle East and North Africa who have converted to Christianity in Britain. The implication is that the 200 or so asylum seekers who have become Christians may have done so for manipulative reasons: so as to have a better…

The View Over the years I have been involved in the investigation of many murders which resulted from terrorist shootings and bombings, and deaths in violent situations. Such events are without question, terribly traumatising for those who are left behind – the family and friends of the person who died. My involvement has very often…

The Pope’s call for a more collaborative Church inspired by the margins is winning hearts and minds, one of the organisers tells Chai Brady It’s no secret that Pope Francis has been met with a mixed reaction since his election in 2013. Many people have hailed his emphasis on a humble Church listening to those…

In opting for a softly-softly approach to diocesan reform, Rome may simply be delaying the inevitable, but has to start somewhere, writes Michael Kelly The old saying goes that ‘you can please some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time – but you can’t please all…

Narrating the past is really about controlling the present direction, writes David Quinn Is it a good or a bad thing to be nostalgic about the past? If the latter, then the Irish need not worry, because we are one of the least nostalgic countries in the world about our history according to a new…

The COP26 climate summit in Glasgow is over and has widely been received as not having delivered enough. Climate activist Greta Thunberg lambasted the talks as a “failure”, echoing the sentiments of many commentators since the conference’s close. Climate fight The perceived failure of humanity’s ‘last, best hope’ in the climate fight is unlikely to…

Letters from Rome T.S. Eliot may well be the greatest of all American poets, and his 1925 poem “The Hollow Men” contains perhaps the most-quoted lines of any 20th century American literary work, usually by people who have no idea where the lines come from: “This is the way the world ends/Not with a bang…

Our greatest strength is often our greatest weakness. Sensitivity is a gift, but as any sensitive person will tell you, that gift can be a mixed blessing. Sometimes a thick, calloused skin can save you from a lot of suffering, particularly from heartache. The popular spiritual writer Henri Nouwen was a highly sensitive person. That…

On Sunday last, the feast of Christ the King, I had the honour of celebrating the annual Mass for deceased members of the Dublin Fire Brigade. It was a pleasure also to welcome Dublin’s Lord Mayor, Alison Gilliland, to our church for the occasion, but it was far from the first encounter between the mayor…

Dara Ó Briain is surely one of the most successful of Irish comedians, mostly living and working in Britain, though currently on tour in Ireland. He’s the genial but sharp host of the hugely engaging Mock the Week satirical programme on BBC. Dara is also an award-winning debater and a brilliant mathematician who has partnered…