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…

We must remember, “our bodies, yours and mine, at the final judgement, will be raised from the dead and reunited with our souls”, writes Andrew O’Connell The Paschal Triduum, culminating in the Exsultet at the Easter Vigil, is a beautiful and profound spiritual experience. At its heart is the stunning reality of the Resurrection of…

The stone which rolled away from the tomb of Jesus continues to roll away from every sort of grave. Goodness cannot be held, captured or put to death. It evades its pursuers, escapes capture, slips away, hides out, even leaves the churches sometimes, but forever rises, again and again, all over the world. Such is…

Holy Orders is the sacrament of apostolic ministry, writes Cathal Barry Holy Orders is the sacrament through which the mission entrusted by Christ to his apostles continues to be exercised in the Church until the end of time, according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church. As such, the Church teaches that “it is the…

“If politicians believe in a particular cause, they should articulate it with honesty and clarity”, writes Editor Michael Kelly Acurious aspect of the centenary commemoration around the 1916 Easter Rising is the confidence with which many people claim to know the minds of the leaders. Take Leo Varadkar (acting-Minister for Health, at least for the…

“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…

It is not good enough to simply say ‘Islam is a religion of peace’, writes David Quinn Is Islam really a ‘religion of peace’ as some of its defenders insist? So many acts of terrorism today are being carried out by followers of Islam. Yes, they are extremists. Yes, their version of Islam may be…

Mags Gargan examines the complex relationship between faith and gender New research shows that globally women, especially among Christians, are generally more religiously devout than men. These findings will come as no real surprise to anyone who has looked across the pews during Mass on any given Sunday in Ireland and seen the obvious gender…

So-called Islamist groups commit atrocities with a false allegiance to Islam, writes Shaykh Umar Al-Qadri Last week the world has seen the cities of Brussels, Baghdad and Lahore rocked by a series of suicide bomb attacks that targeted the Belgian airport and metro station, an Iraqi football stadium and a Pakistani family park. These attacks…