by Lilia Kovalyk A religious journalist based in Lviv, reflects on her experience of reporting in war time The war has turned Ukrainian journalists into inventors. We all understood Russia would attack, but no one wanted to believe this. Before the war began, in the editorial office of Religious Information Service of Ukraine (RISU), we…

2022 has been dominated by the dreadful war in Ukraine. Russia and its leaders have isolated themselves in the eyes of the world. As this year draws to a close, I want to share a true story from that part of the world which both highlights a painful reality and also captures something beautiful from…

I’m rather ashamed of an episode of my life that has recently come to mind, but I think it’s instructive. I was in my early twenties, and, in an effort to break into journalism, I was working as a secretary for The Guardian in London, previously called the Manchester Guardian. Society today has more sympathy…

The View It’s become a recurring theme, as inevitable now as the manufactured row about the Angelus on the radio or a Crucifix being displayed in a hospital. Every year, along with the resurrection of the dreary fuss about Christmas songs, we are subjected to an annual dose of whinging about ditching the word Christmas because…

On the cusp of celebrations to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, the number of people taking their own life is on the rise, writes Michael Kelly It’s a startling and sobering fact that since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, more people in the North have died at…

Criticisms of the over-dominance of the Church are valid, but they are also simplistic, writes David Quinn What was to become the Irish Republic marked its 100th birthday on Tuesday, but it has not been marked by big celebrations and perhaps that is partly because it wasn’t at the time either. The nascent Free State…

Letter from Rome Just a stone’s throw from St Peter’s Square lies the Via delle Fornaci, a major Roman artery that leads from the Vatican all the way up the Janiculum hill. Much of the traffic that flows in and out of the Pope’s domain travels the street, and businesses in the vicinity of the…

by Dennis Sadowski Saying they are outraged by growing “antisemitic rhetoric” across the country, members of the US bishops’ Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs urged Christians to decry hate-filled statements and violence aimed at Jewish individuals, homes and institutions. Committee members also denounced “any rhetoric which seeks to demonise or dehumanise the Jewish people…

by Fr John Harris Notebook On a night out with friends from college I was once asked if I was an optimist or a pessimist; did I see the glass half full or half empty. I had to think about to for a moment. I had to admit I generally see the glass as being…

Under a new protocol, religious symbols across State-run primary and secondary schools in the Republic (see page x), must be reflective of the “entire community”. If I were a Catholic parent with a child at such a school, I’m sure I’d have no objection to a school mirroring the faith diversity of the local community.…