Who do you believe – Prince Andrew or Virginia Roberts? In the midst of a general election in Britain, as many people were discussing this as the state of the political parties. Virginia Roberts – now using her married name of Guiffre – appeared on a special BBC Panorama programme on Monday night, which made…

The View While at Mass on the first Sunday in Advent, I was momentarily struck by the beauty of the sanctuary, and the vestments worn by the priest and deacons. The chasuble, a heavy silk damask with a background of indigo, was exquisitely embroidered with clouds of gold and silver thread. All around, my eyes…

There are few more hotly-debated issues in Church circles than what to do about getting children ready for First Holy Communion, writes Chai Brady   That Ireland is becoming less religious – at least in terms of the regular practice of the Faith – is self-evident. What is less clear is how to handle sacramental…

The only appropriate response to refugees and asylum seekers is one of charity, writes David Quinn In his new book, Dominion, historian Tom Holland discusses the radical and transformative effect Christianity had upon the ancient world, seeding it with new ideas that shape our thinking to this day in ways we barely even acknowledge. It’s…

While media commentators are trying to ignore the relative success of Peadar Tóibín’s movement, he deserves much credit for what he has achieved so far, writes Michael Kelly   To describe the campaign for the Dáil byelections as underwhelming would be kind. In reality, the whole thing was painfully dull and the only interesting moments…

The spectacle of a senior politician only noticing the crisis in hospitals because her own child got sick is hard to stomach, writes John McGuirk The old American adage that there are only two things certain in life: death, and taxes, is only partially true. There is, of course, another certainty, and that is that…

Letter From America Central American bishops defend Francis over Amazon synod   At the close of their annual general assembly, the Central American bishops rose to Pope Francis’s defence amid what they said have been false and hostile attacks following the Synod of Bishops on the Amazon in October. They also advocated for better care…

Normally speaking, when a Pope hits the road, all other Vatican operations enter a state of suspended animation. Appointments, documents and statements are held up awaiting his return, because nobody’s supposed to distract from the message he’s travelling to deliver. The fact the Vatican made an exception during Pope Francis’s November 19-26 trip to Thailand…

Notebook   Sometime early in November one of my friends sent me the following bumper-sticker ‘Note to all premature Christmas decorators: Calm down, Mary hasn’t even told Joseph she’s pregnant yet!’ A few days after the bumper sticker arrived I read an essay entitled ‘Advent RIP’. Basically the writer articulates what we all know to…