The Notebook I still don’t know to this day what originally caused it but for the first 25 years of my life our two families were locked in a bitter neighbourhood feud. We were next-door neighbours in a very close knit rural Irish village nestled under the shadow of the mountains. Our homes were…
As we know, Easter was deliberately chosen as the date for the Rising, because of the religious association with both sacrifice and resurrection. Some Catholic commentators have judged this was not appropriate – faith symbols used for a political movement – but be that as it may, it was meaningful to the men and women…
One of the country’s smallest dioceses remains in turmoil with questions now being asked about its future, writes Martin O’Brien This is a Holy Week and Easter like none before in the history of the Diocese of Dromore, and for all the wrong reasons. The diocese, one of the smallest in the country, headquartered…
The View Although the Government still hasn’t announced the date for the referendum to repeal the rights of children before they are born, we now know what it is they are proposing. No longer can anyone say: “Ireland is different, we have a different culture here; Irish politicians wouldn’t vote for a permissive abortion…
Every society has treated ‘unwanted’ children as a problem, writes David Quinn As with the Magdalene homes, mother and baby homes have developed a strong attachment in the public mind with both Ireland and Catholicism. That is to say, these institutions seem peculiar to Irish Catholicism. This linkage in the public mind is likely…
Young people want trusted guides as they explore their faith and their vocation, said five young adults from the US attending the Vatican’s pre-synod meeting. The US delegates to the Vatican meeting also said the 305 young adults from around the world want to see young people consulted more often in their parishes and dioceses.…
In both our piety and our agnosticism we sometimes put God on trial and whenever we do that, it’s we who end up being judged. We see that in the Gospel accounts of the trial of Jesus, particularly in John’s Gospel. John’s Gospel, as we know, paints a portrait of Jesus from the point of…
The Notebook Fr Vincent Sherlock The Lent has passed and hopefully it treated you well. Looking back we might well identify moments of great grace and moments of failure but, combined, they are the story of Lent and the pathway to where we now gather. Easter Sunday can be unfairly seen as the poor…
I opened my mouth to speak, last weekend, and what emerged sounded like the strangled bleatings of an afflicted ewe. By Monday I was entirely speechless, my voice chords silenced by a nasty attack of laryngitis. Whispering and written messages were the only replacements. People were understanding when I signalled “I’ve lost my voice” –…
The View The role of the loyal critic is a vital one in the Church. Many times in its history, the Church has lost its way and been recalled to it through the action of the Holy Spirit working through women and men. President emeritus Mary McAleese clearly sees herself as part of that…
Mary Kenny
Martin O'Brien
Maria Steen
David Quinn
Fr Ronald Rolheiser
Breda O'Brien