You can’t please everyone as Pope. John Paul II didn’t (and he’s a saint!), Pope Francis doesn’t and Pope Benedict XVI certainly didn’t. Probably that is a very good thing, since to lead with conviction and courage always risks upsetting people – particularly what Pope Francis describes as vested interests and ecclesiastical elites. On the…
Editor’s Comment The last year has been another bloody one for Christians around the world. Persecution continues to be a feature of the life of many Christians in the 21st Century – we hardly need reminding of the sober fact that the last 100 years has seen more Christians die for the Faith than in…
Editor’s Comment There are a few books that I read and re-read almost every year. Amongst them is the Jesus of Nazareth trilogy written by Pope Benedict XVI. If you haven’t come across them, Christmas might provide some free time to pick them up and have a read. In the pages, the former Pontiff presents…
Editor’s Comment The pre-Enlightenment era is often viewed as a time of rigid conformism and a lack of liberty compared to our own day. People point to the traditional formula error non habet ius (error has no rights) and shake their head confidently assuring themselves that we live in a better time when people are…
Editor’s Comment Advent is so often a missed season. In the rush to Christmas, we can forget the centrality of anticipation as well as patient and attentive waiting. In the marketplace, Christmas lights are erected from early November and there is talk of Christmas everywhere. It means that Advent gets lost, but it is an…
Editor’s Comment Sr Josephine Enenmo OLA is a missionary sister from Nigeria now living in Dublin. She has shared fascinating reflections on her experiences of the Church in Ireland and the profound feeling of parishioners still remaining strangers to one another, rather than as part of the same community journeying together. “Coming from Nigeria –…
Editor’s Comment Writing to early Christians in Asia Minor nearly 2,000 years ago St Peter urged believers to: “always have your answer ready for people who ask you the reason for the hope that you all have” (I Peter 3:15). The Christians were a minority at the time often facing persecution, and St Peter referred…
Editor’s Comment Church history is always one of ups and downs, peaks and troughs. The last 2,000 years have been witness to some of the greatest people in human history doing great things in the name of Christianity. The same period has also witnessed immense human wickedness from people who profess to be followers of…
Editor’s Comment We’re not even in Advent yet, and already it is Christmas time in the marketplace. But, what exactly does Christmas mean to us? Or, what does it mean to our political leaders. That is not a question as simple as it might appear at first glance. Every year we are treated to stunning…
Editor’s Comment One of the great sadnesses shared with me when I speak at parish missions and novenas around the country is the absence of young families. Often a grandfather and grandmother will be there with cheerful grandchildren, and at the cup of tea afterwards will share their dismay that their grown-up children – the…
Michael Kelly