International Analysis Inés San Martín   If ever there’s doubt about where the Church stands on an issue, having the Pope and the majority of a local Catholic hierarchy speaking in unison pretty much resolves it. This is presently the case for Nicaragua, where, once again, Church-backed anti-government protests have ended in bloodshed. “Renewing my…

Ralph Waldo Emerson calls the stars in the night sky “envoys of beauty, lighting the universe with their astonishing smile” and submits that if they appeared for a single night only every thousand years, we’d be on our knees in worship and would cherish the memory for the rest of our lives. But since they…

Fr Conor McDonough   “Where are all the married saints?” It’s a question we might find ourselves asking as we prepare for the upcoming World Meeting of Families. Of course, countless unknown saints have been raised up by God in the heart of family life, but very few of them are officially canonised or beatified.…

Some people are stroppy and rebellious when they are young. They proclaim themselves red-hot socialists and challenge the inherited traditions of their society. Then, as time goes by and they gain experience in life, they begin to revise or modify some of their youthful opinions.  Shouting “property is theft” – the famous anti-capitalist slogan coined…

The View Martin Mansergh   An Irish Independent  headline earlier this month on an article about Pope Francis’ forthcoming visit to Ireland for the World Meeting of Families declared: ‘Pope will find no tales of princes of the Church in his choice of venues’. The focus would be on the poor, the homeless, and the…

Even the right to baptise your child is now being questioned, writes David Quinn   We are definitely in a radically new cultural moment when even the practice of infant baptism is called into question and by no less a person than our former president, Mary McAleese. If the right of Catholics to baptise their…

Josepha Madigan’s decision to run a Eucharistic service in a priest’s absence invites serious questions, writes Greg Daly   The decision by Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Josepha Madigan to conduct an impromptu Eucharistic service with two other readers on a Saturday evening when the priest scheduled to say Mass failed to turn…

Unless we remember how painfully the promises of economic growth were shown to be hollow we may have much more misery in store, writes Kevin Hargaden   If we take a moment to recall what it is to remember, we quickly realise that memory is one of the great gifts of life. Consider the stories…

The Mary of Scripture and the Mary of Devotions There’s an axiom that says: Roman Catholics tend to adore Mary while Protestants and Evangelicals tend to ignore Mary. Neither is ideal. Mary, the Mother of Jesus, has, in effect, two histories within Christian tradition. We have the Mary of Scripture and we have the Mary…

A friend and colleague suggested to me a short time ago that I should consider writing a book about nuns – since the majority of nuns are now ageing, and in the fullness of time will depart this world. Had I but world enough and time, I would indeed embark on this endeavour. But because of…