Notebook What strange times we’re in! Because of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, many of the institutions that make up our daily landscape are now lying quiet: churches, banks, GAA clubs, offices and schools. But at the same time another social institution is bustling and draws nearly all our attention: the hospital. In these times…
We find ourselves entering the strangest Easter Triduum we have ever known. We will not gather for the Mass of the Lord’s Supper and the washing of feet. We will not kiss the cross. We will not light the night with paschal flames and banish the darkness as we proclaim the resurrection. There is no…
Even the grimmest times – as this Holy Week will be for many – bring revelations. And one of the aspects of the coronavirus (Covid-19) that most puzzles experts and scientists is – why are men much more likely to fall victim to the pandemic than women? Men in their 40s and 50s are more…
The View A thoughtful friend of mine asked me whether this pandemic had been sent for a reason. Was it, she wondered, some kind of message from God that we were getting things badly wrong and needed to change our ways? Did we need to return to basics, like loving others and praying? I see…
With all eyes on the threat of Covid-19, an even greater killer is given more access, writes David Quinn At a time when we are trying desperately to save lives, to the extent of effectively shutting us all in our houses, both parts of this island have just made it easier to deliberately kill…
Letter from Rome With Easter just days away, debate continues to swirl about how accessible churches and pastors should be on the holiest day of the Christian calendar – and whether Easter ought to be celebrated this Sunday at all. Although Italy appears to have flattened the curve of the pandemic with projections currently…
Experts say the spread of the coronavirus (Covid-19) across Africa, Middle East and Latin America could lead to a collapse of already strained economies and healthcare systems in those regions. According to Dr Peter Hotez, professor and dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, a major crisis could be…
Jesus’ death washes everything clean, including our ignorance and sin. That’s the clear message from Luke’s account of his death. As we know, we have four Gospels, each with its own take on the passion and death of Jesus. As we know too, these Gospel accounts are not journalistic reports of what happened on Good…
Notebook Have we ever washed our hands so often? Someone sent me a WhatsApp message recently and it had a picture of a man who said he had washed his hands so frequently that the notes he wrote on them for his Leaving Cert exam 30 years ago had re-appeared! Nearly every TV or…
What does it mean to be pro-life? To me it means defending human life from conception until the natural end of life; not deliberating taking human life, unless in extreme cases of self-defence. If a mad axeman is coming towards you with homicidal intent, you would be reasonably entitled to defend yourself, and those around…
Bairbre Cahill
Mary Kenny
Breda O'Brien
David Quinn
John L. Allen Jr.
Fr Ronald Rolheiser