The launch of The Scottish Catholic heralds a rebirth of Catholic journalistic integrity and ethos in Scotland, hears Jason Osborne The pandemic took a toll on all aspects of the Church and Church-related life, Catholic media being no different. In Scotland, the combined difficulties of the pandemic and ensuing restrictions saw the closure of the…
For many years, I have taken part in debates about the family. In all that time, I have focused on the importance of both mothers and fathers being closely involved in the raising of their children. It is why I have always argued for the importance of marriage, because marriage has evolved in practically all…
Letter from Rome After South Korean President Moon Jae-in invited Pope Francis to visit North Korea, a prominent archbishop indicated that the Vatican is working to foster conditions in which a papal visit to the Asian nation is possible. Archbishop Lazarus You Heung-sik, prefect for the Vatican Congregation for Clergy and who is originally from…
In a recent book, Living Between Worlds, James Hollis offers a piece of wit that carries more depth than is first evident. A therapist says to a client, “I cannot solve your problem, but I can give you a more compelling story for your misery”. That’s more than a wisecrack. Whether we feel good or…
Notebook I spent four days on retreat last month. I wasn’t alone. The retreat was organised by our diocese (Cork and Ross) and most of us who were able went along. Our retreat took place outside the diocese, so we had to cancel weekday Masses in our 68 parishes. This wasn’t universally popular; it seems…
Katharine Birbalsingh is a renowned British educator and headmistress of a school she founded: she is reckoned to be among the 20 most influential individuals in British education, and was recently appointed chairwoman of the Social Mobility Commission. There was a storm of protest, and others who served on the Social Mobility Commission rejected Ms…
The View Pope Francis, meditating recently on the problematic history of Latin America including his own country of Argentina in its evolution over the past 500 years, and especially the treatment of native peoples, ran into criticism from Spanish conservatives. They hold that Spain gave Latin America (except Brazil) its language and Catholic religion, and…
Left-wing pressure groups are lining up to push Ireland in an even more liberal direction, writes David Quinn For many years, various United Nations (UN) bodies exerted pressure on Ireland to abolish the Eighth Amendment. Moves are now on to cajole us into making our present already very liberal abortion law even more permissive. Ireland…
Inviting people to participate in a process that is really only about erecting scaffolding around old structures will further alienate even the enthusiastic, writes Garry O’Sullivan “Trying to turn the pyramid upside down,” is how Fr Brendan Hoban described what they were doing by organising a diocesan assembly in Killala, one of the smallest dioceses…
“To tell someone, with fullness of heart, ‘I love you’, is virtually the same as saying, ‘You shall never die.’ Twentieth century philosopher Gabriel Marcel wrote those words and they echo words written 500 years earlier by Blessed Magdalen Panattieri, a Dominican Tertiary, who wrote to a friend, “I could not be happy in heaven…
David Quinn
Fr Ronald Rolheiser
Mary Kenny