Early tomorrow morning (Friday), Pope Francis will depart from the Vatican for the 33rd apostolic journey of his pontificate outside of Italy. Iraq will be the 51st country that the Holy Father will have visited since the inauguration of his papacy eight years ago this month. It is a visit that the Pope has wanted…
“Where there is no vision the people perish,” is wisdom attributed to King Solomon in the Old Testament. It came to mind this week reflecting on the poor performance of the southern Government when it comes to charting a realistic and hopeful way out of the current level five Covid-19 restrictions. A succession of high-profile…
I asked a friend over the weekend – via a phonecall lest I be accused of flouting rules – if he was planning on giving up “the drink” this Lent as has been his custom for many years. “I think I’ll drink more,” was his joking response. It is a sentiment that will resonate with…
Just how toxic discussions about the Church and priests and religious have become in Ireland was evidenced a few years ago when novelist Marian Keyes suggested people throw stones if they see a priest. “No matter how ‘nice’ a priest is, no matter how many raffles he runs, he is still a foot soldier for…
There’s a terribly jarring advertisement on the radio at the moment. The trite catchphrase goes something like “this is us…staying at home…keeping away from one another…this is us”. It’s undoubtedly well-meaning and designed to affirm people in their persistence in observing pandemic-related restrictions. But, there is something desperately sad in it because this is actually…
The Stoic philosopher Epictetus observed almost 2,000 years ago that “it is impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he already knows”. I’ve thought about it a lot over the last week regarding the reaction to the mother and baby report. Some newspaper columnists have called on Judge Yvonne Murphy’s report to be set aside because –…
There is no simple or singular story of the treatment of unmarried mothers in mother and baby homes and county homes. At the outset, I acknowledge that many former residents reject the use of the word ‘home’. The report of the commission investigating the treatment of the mothers and their children in the period from…
The idea of journey is a central motif in our Faith. Whether it is Abraham leaving his homeland to go to the Promised Land or Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt – the People of God on the move is a constant. The Second Vatican Council (1962-65) describes the Church as being on a…
An old Irish superstition is that at the stroke of midnight on December 31, those seeking good luck were recommended to enter their house through the front door and leave through the back. It’s not obvious to me how that particular custom arose, but like many superstitions the origins are clouded in a combination of…
O little town of Bethlehem How still we see thee lie Above thy deep and dreamless sleep The silent stars go by Yet in thy dark streets shineth The everlasting light The hopes and fears of all the years Are met in thee tonight. We all have our favourite Christmas carols. My own is probably…
Michael Kelly