Letter from America In failing to challenge Donald Trump on his moral inconsistencies, Catholics have also failed their Church One of my all-time favourite television shows is The West Wing, the seven-season epoch chronicling life inside the White House’s executive office. At the helm of the nation is President Jed Bartlett, a Catholic Democrat who…
It is normal to feel restless as a child, lonely as a teenager, and frustrated by lack of intimacy as an adult; after all we live with insatiable desires of every kind, none of which will ever find full fulfillment this side of eternity. Where do these desires come from? Why are they so insatiable?…
Notebook I think I must be the luckiest priest in Ireland. Luck is the key word there, because through no fault or effort of my own, I was eight years in this parish before Covid-19 struck. This was a powerful help just now. It means I know the place and its people very well (and…
Robert Runcie, who died in 2000, was a well-liked Archbishop of Canterbury who had warm ecumenical links with the Archbishop of Westminster Cardinal Basil Hume. He participated in a joint service at Canterbury – on the spot where St Thomas More was murdered – with Pope John Paul II in 1982. Dr Runcie’s wife, Rosalind,…
Going against the grain has earned Poland an international media rebuke, writes Jason Osborne Poland has opted for the road less travelled by with its re-election of incumbent Andrzej Duda for a second term as president following a tight race against Warsaw mayor, Rafał Trzaskowski. Mr Duda’s victory was sealed with the reigning president securing…
We rightly mourn the deaths of over 1,700 people from Covid-19 but the loss of more than 7,000 little ones from abortion passes almost without comment As a Church, it’s the very least we can do in response to the deafening silence from the media and the majority of politicians who have largely ignored the…
What liberals really lament is that they didn’t have everything their own way in the past, writes David Quinn Jack Charlton was one of the most loved figures Ireland has seen in decades. It is a rare person who becomes a national hero to the extent that he did. He gave us the same sense…
Letter from Rome As museums and historical sites in Italy slowly begin opening their doors after several months of lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, technology may prove to be the ‘Renaissance’ the country’s tourism industry desperately needs. Recently, countries within the European Union have opened their borders following months of lockdowns and restrictions. However,…
Monks have secrets worth knowing, and these can be invaluable when a coronavirus pandemic is forcing millions of us to live like monks. Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, millions of us have been forced to stay at home, work from home, practice social-distancing from everyone except those in our own houses and have minimal social…
Notebook I know it’s early days and we have had just two weekends of congregations back at Mass but I have to confess the whole experience is leaving me as a priest somewhat cold. Like most people I was relieved when the authorities gave us the green light to begin to open our churches for…
Fr Ronald Rolheiser
Mary Kenny
David Quinn