The habit of millions of Filipinos to play violent video games online could have long-term consequences for their mental condition, especially that of young people. Some experts say it is very likely that such games can cause emotional and psychological problems, while others disagree, claiming there are no negative effects. But research from the American…

When it comes to love affairs, or romantic entanglements, the question of who is luring whom can be a complex one. A Kenyan bishop, Hieronymus Emusugut Joya, has asked women to respect the celibacy of Catholic priests and not to tempt or “force them into affairs”. He has banned overnight guests at priests’ residences, and…

How would you feel if, in order to practice your Catholic faith, you had to comply with a draconian series of laws which dictated whether there could be a church, who could be appointed as a bishop or priest, how priests were to be trained, when and where worship was allowed, who could belong to…

Last week, something extraordinary happened at a place almost none of us had ever heard of before: 60,000 Moroccans, overwhelmingly young men, made the relatively short swim along the shoreline to somewhere called Ceuta, a small Spanish ‘exclave’ along the North African coastline. Ceuta is a small town with 84,000 inhabitants. They witnessed tens of…

Jeff Cavins has a gift for communicating the Good News – with wit, insight and a boldness that cuts to the chase and the heart. More than a decade on, I still remember his refreshing talk at a Faith and Life convention in Belfast. The leading American evangelist, and biblical scholar, was addressing an audience…

I was at Mass recently and the Gospel reading was from St John—the passage where Christ says: “Take courage; I have conquered the world.” As is the norm, the priest gave a homily afterwards, explaining how the Gospel can be applied “in real life”. He explained that none of us escapes life’s challenges or trials.…