In a recent article in America magazine, Grant Kaplan, commenting on the challenge of the Resurrection, makes this comment: “Unlike previous communities in which the bond among members forges itself through those it excludes and scapegoats, the gratuity of the Resurrection allows for a community shaped by forgiven-forgivers.” What he is saying, among other things,…

There were four speakers at the presentation of the Pope’s post-synodal Apostolic Exhortation in Rome last Friday, but all eyes and ears were on Cardinal Christoph Schönborn. Before turning to his prepared text he announced: “This text is beautiful, really beautiful in my opinion.” He went on to praise the accessibility and immediacy of the…

“If the Church cannot give life to families, she herself has no future” Fr Bernard Healy Much of the commentary about Amoris Laetitia will focus on the care of those in ‘irregular unions’. It seems a shame that the ‘hot button issues’ will take attention away from a vision that could be genuinely revolutionary in…

“What must be borne in mind is the fact that daily Mass is a (praiseworthy) devotional exercise”, writes Editor Michael Kelly Chaplains at universities and other third level institutions in the Republic were getting it in the neck this week. Atheist Ireland – a body which, oddly, seeks to present itself as the representative organisation…

Following “a terrific reception for his latest document Amoris Laetitia” in America, there are those “who feel that he hasn’t gone far enough”, writes Mary Kenny I have a friend who wrote a well-researched book about the British royal family as a shrewdly ‘marketed’ celebrity product. When I asked him how his book had been…

The success of the synod in Limerick was that it listened to people, writes Cathal Barry The decision to convoke a diocesan synod back in September 2014 was a bold move by Limerick’s Bishop Brendan Leahy who at the time was little over a year in office. After all, until last weekend there had not…

Francis is trying to build a Church that is faithful to Christ’s teaching while ensuring that everyone can find a home, writes Michael Kelly Within minutes of the publication of the Pope’s landmark document on marriage and the family, the British-based left-wing newspaper The Guardian uploaded a message on social media confirming that the Pontiff…

“We have been called to inform consciences, not to replace them”. “Where love is concerned, silence is always more eloquent than words. It is an encounter with a face, a ‘thou’, who reflect God’s own love and is man’s ‘best possession, a helper fit for him and a pillar of support’, in the words of…

Bishops must answer Pope’s challenge on sex education, writes David Quinn Amoris Laetitia is a long and complex document with many parts dealing with diverse topics, but all relating in the end to the family, the Church’s concept of the family and how people can be led, sometimes bit by bit, to see the wisdom…

The joy of love experienced by families is also the joy of the Church! writes Pope Francis It is not by chance that Amoris Laetitia (AL), “The Joy of Love”, the post-synodal Apostolic Exhortation “on Love in the Family”, was signed on March 19, the Solemnity of St Joseph. It brings together the results of…