We need to think about and pray for our brothers and sisters suffering and dying for what we take so casually for granted, writes Fr Martin Delaney Recently I returned to my alma mater, the Irish College in Rome. Some years ago the college chapel was extensively renovated by the Slovenian Jesuit artist, Mark Rupnik.…

In the movie based upon Jane Austen’s classic novel Sense and Sensibility, there’s a very poignant scene where one of her young heroines, suffering from acute pneumonia, is lying in bed hovering between life and death. A young man, very much in love with her, is pacing back and forth, highly agitated, frustrated by his…

The Church teaches that Christ is made visible through the ordained ministry, writes Cathal Barry The redemptive sacrifice of Christ is unique, according to the Church, is accomplished once for all; yet it is made present in the Eucharistic sacrifice of the Church. “The same is true of the one priesthood of Christ,” the Catechism…

There is grave concern about the future of the diocese and the damage to priestly morale caused by the ongoing controversy, writes Michael Kelly The priests of the Diocese of Ossory are currently involved in a ‘listening process’. Facilitated by three priests of the diocese, the process is designed for Bishop Séamus Freeman to get…

President Higgins’ view of post-independence Ireland is a caricature, writes David Quinn How should we remember 1916? What does justice to all the different strands of the Easter Rising? President Michael D. Higgins has spoken of the need for “ethical remembering”, by which he means a form of remembering that takes account of all the…

The synod journey has been unfamiliar territory and there has been a sense of adventure, writes Bishop Brendan Leahy Since we began our synod process, as far back as December 2014, I’ve often been asked – why did I call a synod? The most immediate reason was that when I became Bishop of Limerick, I…

How successful the dream of the Rising has been realised can only be measured in terms of what kind of society we have now, writes Archbishop Diarmuid Martin Earlier this year RTÉ transmitted a television series about 1916 called Rebellion. It was a fictional re-enactment of the dramatic events of Easter Week 1916. It included…

“When it comes to the faith box, if you are an adherent of a faith, or a believer in any faith, say so”, writes Mary Kenny I detect a campaign starting up on social media to encourage people – perhaps agnostics, waverers, those uncertain of their spiritual values – to append ‘no religion’ on the…

“I would love if someone were to do some serious research on what being Irish means in this virtual world”, writes Breda O’Brien While the country has spent weeks discussing every aspect of 1916 and the implications for today, much more recent anniversaries, such as the 11-year anniversary of YouTube, or the nine-year anniversary of…