The power of Satan is real, and we must pray to overcome it, writes Fr Pat Collins CM According to Pope Leo XIII’s private secretary, when the Pontiff had a vision of demonic spirits about to mount an attack on the city of Rome he wrote the prayer to St Michael the Archangel. It…
Catholics across Ireland, and most especially in Belfast, were left perplexed on Monday by the news that onetime top BBC journalist turned trainee nun Martina Purdy had left her Belfast convent, after being told that her congregation was too small to allow her and three other temporarily-professed sisters to continue in formation. In a statement…
Every September we read reports of disgruntled secular parents who object to the fact that their children are being taught about religion, in religious-ethos schools. I find it difficult to understand why a parent would send their child to a faith-based school, and then complain that faith values are taught there. However, I suppose we…
A ‘Green Pledge’ could be an important step forward, writes David Quinn What should the Church itself do about climate change? Some parishes now have climate change committees and various religious orders have long had a strong commitment to preserving the environment. Pope Francis has made it a central theme of his pontificate. The…
There is a danger that conscientious objection will only be allowed when it can make little difference, writes Dr Keith Holmes Conscious Objection in Health Care describes medical scenarios where clinicians refuse to engage in a clinical activity on the grounds that such participation would contravene their ethical moral or religious beliefs. While this…
Letter from Rome Under a Pope for whom ‘synodality’ is the buzzword par excellence, meaning broad consultation and shared decision-making, it probably should be no surprise that synods and their vicissitudes are destined to be the biggest Catholic drama over the months to come. We already know about the controversial Synod of Bishops for the Amazon…
Since Brexit has dominated the UK news for the past three years, it might be easy to miss the great strides being made by the government in promoting religious freedom in the same time period. The latest move has been to appoint Rehman Chishti, a Conservative Member of Parliament, as the new Prime Minister’s Special…
We quite naturally tend to think of the word ‘Christ’ as Jesus’ second name. We think of the name ‘Jesus Christ’ like we think of names like ‘Susan Parker’ or ‘Jack Smith’. But that’s an unhealthy confusion. Jesus didn’t have a second name. The word ‘Christ’ is a title which, while it includes the person…
Notebook A question. Do you know what the first food eaten on the moon was? The answer may surprise many of you…the Eucharist! Of the many interesting milestones marked or celebrated this past summer, one that stood out for me was the 50th anniversary of for the first people to set foot on the moon…
The View City and county libraries, along with other cultural bodies, make a vital contribution to public education, not least in remembering and deepening understanding of important anniversaries. The relatively new Lexicon on the seafront in Dún Laoghaire is hosting two exhibitions at the present time, co-sponsored by the Peruvian and the Polish Embassies…
Greg Daly
Mary Kenny
David Quinn
John L. Allen Jr.
Fr Ronald Rolheiser