Fr Conor McDonough “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things” (Phil 4:8). This beloved passage often comes to mind when I’m struck by a…

In all healthy people there’s a natural reticence about revealing too much of themselves and a concomitant need to keep certain things secret. Too often we judge this as an unhealthy shyness or, worse, as hiding something bad. But reticence and secrecy can be as much virtue as fault because, as James Hillman puts it,…

Many people were irritated by Bob Geldof’s decision to return his Freedom of the City of Dublin as a protest against the current regime in Myanmar (still sometimes called Burma) and the treatment of the Rohingya people there. The Lord Mayor of Dublin felt, especially, that it was a graceless move, since this honour is…

Liberal Churches lose both members and integrity, writes David Quinn   The Lutheran Church of Sweden is urging its clergy to use gender-neutral language when referring to God and avoid words like ‘Lord’ and ‘he’ and ‘father’. What Martin Luther, after whom the Lutheran Churches are obviously named, would think should be obvious. He would…

We have a duty to stand in solidarity with persecuted believers, writes Dr Michael Kinsella   As 2017 comes to a close, we can reflect upon a year in which the Church marked both the 70th anniversary of the founding of Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) by Fr Werenfried van Straaten and the…

It can be quite disheartening to watch the news these days. Our world is full of hatred, bigotry, racism, and over-stimulated greed and ego. The gap between the rich and poor is widening and random, senseless violence is an everyday occurrence. One lives with hope, but without much optimism. Among all of this, perhaps the…

Notebook Fr Bernard Healy   At the start of November this year, various Facebook friends began posting images and messages stating that with Hallowe’en behind us, now was the time for Christmas songs and decorations. Christmas seems to start earlier each year, but the current fad seems to be for the Christmas Season to encompass…

It is said, amongst teachers, that by teaching, you learn. Similarly, by writing for readers, a journalist learns much from those readers. And over the past week, I received a reader’s letter which gave me much pause for thought. It was from “Anne” in the “West of Ireland”. “I am writing to you re the…

The View Martin Mansergh   November is the month of remembrance, with All Saints’ Day on the 1st, followed by All Souls’ Day on the 2nd, in the Christian calendar. It is also the month when on 11 November 1918 an Armistice was called which brought the main fighting in the First World War to…

Living well is a lifelong process, but we have to know what we are aiming at, writes David Quinn   In an excellent address to a conference on priestly formation in Maynooth at the weekend, Archbishop Eamon Martin made a passing reference to the volumes of work that have been written in the years after…