Recently I read, in succession, three books on suicide, each written by a mother who lost one of her children to suicide. All three books are powerful, mature, not given to false sentiment and worth reading: Lois Severson, Healing the Wound from my Daughter’s Suicide, Grief Translated into Words, lost her daughter, Patty, to suicide;…

“bad news stories can become an excuse for doing nothing”, writes Andrew O’Connell

‘Shambolic governance’ has turned this synod into what ‘resembles a medieval papal court’, writes Editor Michael Kelly

Tragedies may lead us to “disabling” addictions, but treatment can help us overcome the darkness, writes Mary Kenny

Archbishop Eamon Martin tells Cathal Barry why he chose to tackle the issue of abuse at the Synod of Bishops

It seems that all shades of the Catholic world have descended on Rome this week, writes Michael Kelly

Mary Kenny reflects on the growing popularity of the ‘ghoulish’ and ‘macabre’ festival

We ‘have been bombarded by the cultural norms, which no longer include lifelong fidelity’, writes Breda O’Brien

We need a new creed on marriage and the family, writes David Quinn

The synod’s bishops will grapple with the realities of modern marriage, writes Austen Ivereigh