Here’s a thing: I really would like to hear a sermon on the tangled issue of finance. It could be called ‘the moral maze of money.’ What are we to make of waking up each morning to the heated discussions about ‘the markets’? We tremble to hear that the Nikkei (Japan) has crashed, the Hang…
A quiet country retreat in County Down last week began rather unexpectedly when my friend and I spotted a sheep caught in some wire at the edge of a field. A couple of city slickers, we were a bit hesitant. But my friend was concerned enough to knock on a local door that Saturday evening.…
Last weekend, the news broke that disgraced former cardinal and archbishop of Washington, Theodore McCarrick had died on April 3. The former cardinal was laicised by Pope Francis in February 2019, following revelations of his serial sexual molestation of male teenagers and adult seminarians. For those unfamiliar with his history, as his name suggests, McCarrick…
One of the most hostile political parties towards the Catholic Church in Ireland today is the Social Democrats. When the announcement was made that the National Maternity Hospital was moving to a new location alongside St Vincent’s hospital, there was outrage in certain quarters because at that point St Vincent’s was still linked to the…
We are now a quarter of the way into the Jubilee Year of Hope. Our church banners remind us that we are in a special time. Some parishioners have already made the pilgrimage to Rome, and others may go in the months ahead. But I sometimes wonder: if I asked the average Catholic—perhaps even a…
If a person swears to God when he or she does not believe the Oath is devalued, for how can someone swear to God if they do not believe that God exists? Writes Barry Ward. Senator Barry Ward Article 34.6.1° Bunreacht na hÉireann sets out the Oath that every judge, appointed under the Constitution, must…
When the history-books are written, it is quite likely that the most influential Irishman of our time will be Michael O’Leary, CEO of Ryanair. Yes, Clongowes-educated Mr O’Leary has probably made more impact on our world than all the politicians, leaders and general celebrities put together. He has made his low-budget airline the most dominant…
The example of the unfortunate aftermath of the closure of the Clonmel Friary offers us lessons for what to do when we close churches and when our church closes. There is no doubting the goodwill of the passionate volunteers that sought for the Church to remain open in Clonmel but in cases like this, we…
The sticker plastered on a Belfast lamp post made me smile. “I’ve read the last chapter – God wins!” A source of hope in a world of death, destruction and doom. How easy it is for us to forget that the battle for salvation, for our lives, has already been won. Despite death and darkness…
When the late Pope John Paul ascended to the Papacy, he said that Europe must breathe through its two lungs, the tradition of the Western Roman rite and that of the Eastern Orthodox rite as well. Although I could not agree with him more, I would add the 50 million members of the Orient Orthodox…
Mary Kenny
Martina Purdy
Maria Steen
David Quinn