We share the world with more than seven and a half billion people and each of us has the irrepressible, innate sense that we are special and uniquely destined. This isn’t surprising since each one of us is indeed unique and special. But how does one feel special among seven and half billion others? We…
The Rev. Billy Graham, a fiery Baptist preacher who was easily the most famous evangelist of the 20th Century and for decades one of the world figures most admired by Americans, died earlier this month at his home in Montreat. He was 99. He had suffered from Parkinson’s disease for many years, although he continued…
Fr Martin Delaney The recent death of one of my parishioners got me thinking about how the smallest acts and gestures can have an enormous impact. I was reminded of when Communist rule fell in the former Soviet Union. In August 1991 a group of Russian generals were determined to turn back the tide of…
How many nostalgic memories are triggered by the news that Walton’s Music Shop in Dublin’s South Great Georges’ Street is closing down! What a fine institution it was, and how valiantly it upheld the cause of Irish music down through the decades, ever since 1922. But Niall Walton, who inherited the business from his father…
An artificial human reproduction law is the Government’s latest attack on children’s rights, writes David Quinn With almost no public – or indeed political – scrutiny, a law intended to regulate the practice of Assisted Human Reproduction (AHR) is currently before the Oireachtas. It is being considered at the moment by the Health Committee.…
The View Trust is much easier to maintain than to re-establish after it has been lost. The scandals engulfing Oxfam illustrate this clearly. Serious allegations have been made regarding Oxfam personnel making use of women in prostitution during an aid operation in earthquake-hit Haiti. Worse, allegations appear to involve not just women working as…
Fr Paddy Byrne One of the fundamental tasks given to every Christian is to spread the Good News. In our Catholic tradition, this task has been extremely well-served for centuries. Communication is key to the life and mission of our Church. I know too ‘actions speak louder than words’ –actions of kindness, compassion, inclusion…
Fr Éamonn Fitzgibbon It is just 12 months since the Government launched ‘Realising our Rural Potential: The Action Plan for Rural Development’. This Plan generated hope and optimism in many rural communities as it outlined 270 actions to support rural Ireland. However, much of this positivity has been dented by the recently launched National Planning Framework…
There is a growing concern that young people are just sliding into the sacrament, writes Susan Gately Wexford-based Fr Paddy Banville attracted publicity recently after calling a public meeting to address the issue of the forthcoming Confirmation ceremony in the parish. When the students enrolled for the Sacrament, Fr Banville, the administrator of the…
Letter from Rome As President John F. Kennedy famously said after the Bay of Pigs disaster in 1961, more or less paraphrasing Tacitus, “victory has a thousand fathers, but defeat is an orphan”. The odd thing from a media point of view is that it’s often precisely the opposite way around – failure is…
Fr Ronald Rolheiser
Mary Kenny
David Quinn
Breda O'Brien
Susan Gately
John L. Allen Jr.