Revelations of rampant sexual abuse by deceased Jesuit Fr Alfonso Pedrajas have prompted dozens of people in Bolivia to come forward with similar accusations of atrocities in the South American country, where the Catholic Church confronts a reckoning over the criminal acts of paedophile priests. An investigation by Bolivian newspaper Página Siete found more than…
Since Pentecost, I have been thinking about the gifts of the Holy Spirit. In the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the last of the gifts named is that of ‘Awe and Wonder’ also known as ‘Fear of the Lord’ (para. 1831). Here I share a few thoughts on how the Spirit can give birth to ‘Awe…
When I was a young feminist, engaging in fiery discussions with the likes of June Levine, Nell McCafferty, Mary Robinson and Mairín de Burca, there was one principle on which we agreed: this was “the personal is political”. And furthermore, we affirmed that “everything is political”. We young leftists absolutely concurred that politics was part…
Ireland and Poland are just at different points along the same path when it comes to genuine Catholic faith, writes Jason Osborne from Poland. Life in Poland is a blast from the Catholic, Irish past in some ways. An example of this is that this week Poles enjoy a day off for Corpus Christi, whereas…
The View Once upon a time 11 shocked and weary disciples gathered together to mourn the death of their leader, betrayed by the 12th disciple. There must have seemed to be no hope at all. Their leader had told them that he would return to them, but they knew he had died a shocking, terrible…
Rates of marriages and births decline as our social bond weakens, writes David Quinn. Ireland, or at least our opinion-formers, love declaring how much we have changed in recent decades and that it is almost all for the better. We are much more ‘tolerant’ now, they say, far more ‘compassionate’. We have legalised same-sex marriage.…
Expanding prison capacity is more a coping strategy than a solution to prison overcrowding, Jason Osborne hears. Prison overcrowding has been back in the news, with recent reports claiming that well over one hundred prisoners, both men and women, have been sleeping on mattresses in prisons due to a lack of suitable space. As well…
Letter from Rome Justin McLellan The flag of Vatican City, yellow and white with crossed keys under the papal tiara, is incorrect in many emojis, flying outside the United Nations and often even on Vatican buildings. Through confusion possibly caused by an erroneous Wikipedia entry, the Vatican flags waving outside its buildings and sold in…
While maintaining its stance against IVF, the Vatican issued a new document May 30 sounding an alarm about declining birth rates and touting alternatives to methods of artificial reproduction the Church sees as morally unacceptable. The text also reiterates the Church’s traditional opposition to contraception, despite speculation in some quarters that Pope Francis might be…
Notebook Another First Communion and Confirmation season has come to an end. I will again beat my lonely drum in the hope that we might begin a serious and honest conversation around what is happening with these sacramental encounters in every parish in Ireland. Earlier this year we had four Confirmation ceremonies in the two…
Mary Kenny
Nuala O’Loan
David Quinn