Letter from Rome It was quite fitting for a Catholic actor and a Christian director of a new streaming series on the life of Jesus to meet Pope Francis on the feast of St Clare of Assisi, patron saint of televisions and screens. Jonathan Roumie, who portrays Jesus, and Dallas Jenkins, the series’ director, creator…

The Faithful still long to practice their faith free from harassment, writes Elise Ann Allen For Iraqis, the first week of August 2014 will forever be etched into their memory as the start of one of the worst episodes of religious and ethnic persecution the country has ever seen when the so-called Islamic State overtook…

Notebook I had a bout of cellulitis this summer, a sore dose. I don’t know where it came from, though my doctor speculated that an insect bite under the skin on my foot probably caused the infection. I have often had cellulitis in the past, so I know the solution: rest with feet elevated, and…

How should we commemorate the Irish Civil War – the centenary occurring at the turn of the year? If it were left to Fergal Keane, the renowned war reporter, it wouldn’t be ‘commemorated’ at all. He’s really troubled by that word ‘commemoration’ – with its overtones of honouring an event – because he’s seen so…

The View Paradise is depicted at the beginning of the Bible as a heavenly garden. Given that the origin of the Jewish religion was in a mainly dry, hot and arid region of the Middle East, not surprisingly a fertile and fruitful garden represented an ideal habitation for humanity. The story inspired great works of…

People are starting to realise that public health is no longer the overwhelming consideration it once was, writes David Quinn To what extent are we morally obliged to follow public health guidance, and does there ever come a point at which we can decide for ourselves that other considerations override that guidance? Ever since March…

Philosophy should be understood as a manner of living and not just an exercise done in an armchair or a classroom writes Dr Philip Gonzales It is often said that philosophy deals with the deepest human realities such as birth and death and this is, indeed, true. Moreover, it is also true, as Socrates famously…

Letter from Beirut Doreen Abi Raad A year after the catastrophic Beirut port blast, the wounds of the people in Lebanon are scarred by the memory of the tragedy, and cries for justice escalate. This year, August 4 was declared a national day of mourning in Lebanon. Clutching a framed photograph of her husband Elie,…

In rediscovering what it means to be Italian, will the faith that has defined the country for centuries be reconsidered asks John L. Allen Fifty years from now, Italians now alive probably will still smile whenever someone mentions the summer of 2021, what’s now being described as the greatest summer in the history of Italian…