One of the key planks of the Good Friday Agreement, the 25th anniversary of which we celebrate this month, was the idea of parity of esteem. In short, that no identity would be exaggerated in the region at the expense of another. We don’t need to rehearse the history, but the first 50 years or…

Joe Biden’s handlers can hardly have been more pleased about his ‘homecoming’ visit to Ireland. By any measure, the trip was a success and Mr Biden certainly seems to have enjoyed himself. A US-based journalist commenting on the trip pointed out that the crowds who turned out to see Mr Biden outside St Muredach’s Cathedral…

Jerusalem is the only city that exists twice: in both heaven and on earth. It has been described as a ‘city of longing’ and it is to this holy city that our hearts and minds turn as we reflect on the drama of Holy Week and Easter. If you’ve ever visited Jerusalem, and I hope…

When they addressed the continental phase of the synod process in Prague last month, Julieann Moran and Fr Éamonn Fitzgibbon spoke of the “joy expressed by so many who took part in the synodal process, and their hope that it will continue and become embedded in Church structures, is real”. No one can doubt the…

Leave well alone,” a senior Government minister told me not too long ago. It was not advice for me, but hitherto unspoken advice to his colleagues who were very gung-ho on “getting the Church out of schools,” as he put it. Over recent years, he had diagnosed that – despite a vocal minority – there…

Ten years ago, bookmakers Paddy Power asked me to compile their papal election guide ahead of the conclave that would replace Pope Benedict XVI. It was mostly a bit of fun, but punters were in fact betting on who would become the next Bishop of Rome and the bookies naturally wanted some insight. As I…

It is hard to think of a topic that is more controversial now or provokes more intense emotion than the issue of transgenderism. This is despite the fact that all of the scientific experts say that gender identity confusion is, at least according to the research, an issue that affects a very small minority of…

There are few things more pathetic and embarrassing to witness than the spectacle of unrequited love. It occurred to me at the weekend when I saw senior figures in the Labour Party talk about their enthusiasm for a potential merger with the Social Democrats. Holly Cairns, the Social Democrat TD, was asked about the prospects…

Editor’s Comment The Traditional Latin Mass is celebrated in about a half-a-dozen churches in Ireland. Where it is celebrated, it is well-attended and has attracted some considerable interest from devotees who say that the find that form of the Mass – celebrated widely before the reforms of the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s –…

Dear Friends of The Irish Catholic, The poet Patrick Kavanagh wrote in his poem Advent, “And Christ comes with a January flower”. The miracle of Christmas is extended into the New Year, where we discover the new life in Christ in the vulnerability of a tiny snowdrop that defies the dark nights and cold weather.…