Two dreadful votes happened in the House of Commons in Britain last week. The Bills a majority of MPs voted in favour of must now go to the House of Lords. If that hurdle is cleared, the first Bill will mean that women in England and Wales will be able to abort their babies at…
Candles still flicker in Bethlehem, prayers are still whispered in Nablus, and weary hearts still dare to hope that peace might yet come to this land, writes Justin Robinson OSB In searching for words that capture the spirit of our times, many in the Middle East turn to a line by Antonio Gramsci that feels as…
Almost a century ago, his great great grandfather donated the land for the national monument to St Patrick at Saul, Co. Down. And now, his namesake, Thomas John Hampton is set to become the first priest in four decades to be ordained in the parish of Saul, the place where St Patrick began his mission…
By Frank Russell Each May since 1958 thousands of military personnel from European countries and beyond descend on the small town of Lourdes in the southwest of France to celebrate the International Military Pilgrimage there. This unique pilgrimage was initiated to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the Apparition of Our Lady in 1858 to…
Usually, when a child is born, people rejoice. Victor-Hugo even wrote a famous poem about it – “Quand l’enfant paraît” – describing the admiring circle of family and friends appearing around a new life. But in the case of an infant boy in Georgia, US, named ‘Chance’, his recent birth has been hailed by one…
I was covering the peace process, in the days before the Good Friday Agreement was forged, there was a lot of talk about a ‘Pan-Nationalist Front’. It was a unionist term for an alliance forged by the Taoiseach Albert Reynolds, SDLP leader John Hume, and Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams to pursue a peace settlement. It’s…
I was unable to view RTÉ’s recent programme Housewife of the Year, because I am not presently in Ireland, and the RTÉ player doesn’t allow access to viewers outside the State. So, I won’t comment on the quality or content of Ciaran Cassidy’s documentary, which examines RTÉ’s Housewife of the Year TV contest, running from…
Senior representatives from RTÉ appeared before the Oireachtas Committee on Communications last week, including the head of news and current affairs, Deirdre McCarthy, and Kevin Bakhurst, the Director General. Much of the time recently, RTÉ has found itself embroiled in controversies over expenses, or the amount of money paid to presenters, or presenters doing ‘nixers’,…
There’s glitter on the seats,” the woman in front of me observed, with a friendly smile. She was shuffling into the pew in front of me. “The first communion children!” We both smiled. The boys and girls of the parish had been at Mass for the sacrament the day before. It was not my parish.…
Each school’s characteristic spirit should be clearly articulated and the rights of parents as primary educators reinforced, Miriam Clune writes. Being a mother in today’s world is challenging, particularly when it comes to navigating the ever-evolving landscape of education. Parents are increasingly finding themselves on the periphery of discussions surrounding centralised school policies and curricula, with NGOs stepping…
David Quinn
Martina Purdy
Mary Kenny