The terrible events in Ukraine are evoking memories of the great famine of 1932-33, when up to three million Ukrainians were starved to death by Joseph Stalin’s deliberate policies. Ukrainians have a special word for that genocidal event – the Holdomor, or ‘terror famine’ – which bears some comparison to the Nazis’ Holocaust. I had…
In our current age of increasing political polarisation it is increasingly difficult to argue fruitfully, writes Dr Philip Gonzales If it is our conviction that Christianity — rooted in Christ the enfleshed Word of the Father — is true, and that this truth of love must be carried forward in service to our hazy, nebulous,…
The aid Poland has offered refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine is being hailed as a model of charity, writes Jason Osborne Just over one week since the Russian invasion of Ukraine was launched, the calculus of war already appears stark. As of the time of writing, roughly 9,000 deaths are estimated to have been…
Over the weekend, I spent some time with a group of journalists visiting Rome from the States, part of a special events unit within their news agency trying to get ready for whenever the next papal conclave occurs – or, as I call it, the “Big Show”. We were standing outside a Roman landmark when…
Junno Arocho Esteves Catholic and Orthodox leaders in Europe have appealed to Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, urging him to convince Russian President Vladimir Putin to put an end to the bloodshed in Ukraine. In an open letter published March 2, Romanian Orthodox Father Ioan Sauca, acting general secretary of the World Council of Churches, told…
In his farewell speech in John’s Gospel, Jesus tells us that he is going away but that he will leave us a parting gift, the gift of his peace, and that we will experience this gift in the spirit he leaves behind. How does this work? How do we leave peace and a spirit behind…
I know nothing about Ukraine. I don’t believe I know anybody from the country and I’d be hard pressed to name even a few of its cities or towns but I know I am heartbroken that the country finds itself at war. There are countless videos in circulation that seek to explain why Russia, or…
The View Politics, so I’m frequently told, is a rough game, where players have to contend with machiavellian schemes, dirty tricks and all sorts of back-stabbing and unexpected heaves. The usual addendum to that descriptor is “and that’s only within your own party”. It’s long been held, therefore, that increasing the visibility and participation of women in…
Many strategic and political experts have described the tragic situation in Ukraine as a watershed in international affairs, and a quantum leap into a new world order. Alignments are changing, neutral countries – even Switzerland – are taking sides, and the European Union has moved swiftly to supply arms to defend Ukraine. In recent decades,…
Having a child should not be reduced to a transaction like buying something in a shop, writes David Quinn “I’m a 37-year-old single woman and I desperately want to become a mother”, says the letter-writer to the agony aunt at the Irish Independent. She explains that she has more or less given up on finding…
Mary Kenny
John L. Allen Jr.
Fr Ronald Rolheiser
David Quinn