The Gospel of John presents us with a very powerful and rather earthy mystical image: as John describes the Last Supper scene he tells us that as they were at table the beloved disciple was reclining with his head against Jesus’ breast. The power of that image has, I believe, been better captured by artists…

The Notebook Fr Vincent Sherlock   I remember as a child, having a small plastic wallet with a religious medal inside and a printed card which read: “I am a Catholic, in case of accident, please notify a priest”. I don’t know where I got it but I remember having it. The message was clear.…

There were many who found the street celebrations after the abortion referendum somewhat distasteful, and this extended to the British media, even among those who endorsed Repeal. In the Daily Mail, Richard Littlejohn wrote that “while the Irish referendum result is welcome, I found the near hysterical reaction to it pretty nauseating”. A correspondent to…

The View   As the dust settles on the repeal of the Eighth Amendment to the Irish Constitution, I watched the joy, the rapture, the excitement, the delight of those who voted ‘Yes’ in the referendum with disbelief. They argue that what they were celebrating was the recognition of a woman’s right to choose what…

True compassion helps someone carry their burden until the time hopefully comes when it doesn’t feel like a burden anymore, writes David Quinn   A friend who is good at number-crunching tells me that 37% of weekly Mass-goers voted for abortion on May 25. He gleaned that figure from exit poll data. It is a horrifying…

Letter from America   It was an interesting moment – a disturbing as well as inspiring one. I was listening to an early morning National Public Radio programme – the award-wining public affairs All Things Considered – and the interviewer was speaking to the survivor of prolonged and horrific clerical sex abuse. It had the…

Paulina Guzik   He may be one of the figures closest to the Pope and a soon-to-be Prince of the Church, but Cardinal-designate Konrad Krajewski hardly spends his time moving in circles of wealth and power. Instead, his milieu is among those that don’t have anything: the poor, the homeless and migrants. Krajewski, 54, invites…

Recently a student I’d taught decades ago made this comment to me: “It’s been more than 20 years since I took your class and I’ve forgotten most everything you taught. What I do remember from your class is that we’re supposed to always try not to make God look stupid.” I hope that’s true. I…

Fr Conor McDonough   I’ve been dreading the writing of this column for weeks, and hoping beyond hope that I would be able to write on the basis of a different result. For those convinced that unborn humans deserve legal safeguarding, a group which includes people of all religions and none, the result is a…

If I were asked to preside over, or contribute to, a humanist funeral, or a “naming ceremony” for the children of non-believers, I would have to respond that I was not the appropriate person, since I am a Catholic Christian. Yet it seems that some atheists or agnostics, when asked to sponsor a child for…