Andrew O’Connell assesses the event, which closed last Sunday

Anyone familiar with the life and writings of Simone Weil will, I am sure, agree that she was a woman of exceptional faith. She was also a woman with an unwavering commitment to the poor. But, and this may seem anomalous, she was also exceptional and unwavering in a certain resistance she had towards the…

Fr Alec Reid was a man of courage who dedicated his life to peace, writes Nuala O’Loan

The Methodists pioneered the great temperance movements of the Victorian era – and were so successful at overcoming addiction to alcohol, especially among poor people who were being ruined by penny gin – that their  campaigns have had many imitators since. Even the Pioneers learned from the Methodists (and from the great Fr Mathew). So…

The Pontiff’s new exhortation is a powerful display of practicality, writes Cathal Barry

Cathal Barry reflects what the Catechism of the Catholic Church says about the relationship between Tradition and the Sacred Scriptures

Some parishes embraced the opportunity to explore faith, while others did not

When it comes to the Catholic Church, many Irish people need to grow up, writes David Quinn

I'm back in Australia after two months in Europe, including Ireland. I find it difficult to overestimate the rate and depth of change I witnessed and the collapse of a phase of the Church's life that is currently underway. Throughout the world, but particularly in Ireland, the sense of the end of an era that…