The story is told – probably apocryphally – that in the year 1210 St Francis of Assisi had an audience with Pope Innocent III. During the course of their meeting, both men strolled through the Vatican treasury with all the wealth that this contained at the time as a sure sign of the temporal power…
I’ve mentioned once or twice before that I grew up in Northern Ireland and for me it will always be home. When I was six-years-old, the British and Irish governments signed what became known as the Anglo-Irish Agreement of 1985. For the first time, it gave the Irish Government a say in the day-to-day affairs…
The shock was palpable as news spread on Friday afternoon that the British MP Sir David Amess had been killed. His murder – by a suspected Islamist – sent shockwaves through the political system in Britain. While every death in such circumstances is beyond awful, Sir David’s murder seems to have struck a deeper chord…
I felt blessed to be in Rome at the weekend to be with Pope Francis for the launch of the synodal way which will see a massive programme of consultation in every parish in the Catholic world. The Irish phase of the consultation – known as the synodal way – will begin in dioceses this…
From the moment of his election eight years ago, Pope Francis laid down a marker that the Church is not a debating chamber but exists to bring Christ to the world. Speaking the morning after his election he warned the cardinals who had just thrust him to the papacy: “We can walk as much as…
The US state of Kansas ranks 27th in terms of American states for the percentage of residents who are Catholic. Some 18% of Kansans – fewer than one in five – identify as Catholic. In the Diocese of Wichita – which covers 26 counties in south central and southeast Kansas – only about 10% of…
If the ecumenical service to mark the centenary of partition wasn’t political to begin with, it certainly is now. The decision by President Michael D. Higgins to refuse to participate in the ceremony has thrust what was to be a modest event centre-stage. It’s still not entirely clear why Mr Higgins felt so uncomfortable about…
Being born and raised in Tyrone, I can hardly be taken as an impartial commentator when it comes to Gaelic games. I was delighted to be in Croke Park on Sunday to see the senior footballers crowned All-Ireland champions. It’s hard not to have sympathy for Mayo as their long wait for elusive All-Ireland success…
Frank Duff, the indefatigable founder of the Legion of Mary was a man ahead of his time. What he founded in Dublin a century ago – September 7, 1921 – quickly became the largest international association ever to come out of Ireland. Mr Duff had a two-fold vision for the Legion of Mary. On the…
Christianity basically invented the idea of what we now call separation of Church and State. Taking up Christ’s words “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s”, the idea of an appropriate separation emerged as healthy for both Church and State. A mature understanding of the separation…
Michael Kelly