Fr John Harris OP The old Irish saying warns us that “you’ll never miss your mother ‘til she’s buried beneath the grave”. During Lent the Church drops the Gloria from the Mass but it returns with great gusto at Easter. Last month I wrote about the ‘Silence of God’ and how this can be a…
Can you imagine leaving your six year old in a playground knowing there was a predator there waiting to groom them? Or bringing them with you to a violent over 18s film and asking them to close their eyes, hoping they might not see. Would you hand them a pack of 20 cigarettes because, well,…
Former Taoiseach John Bruton’s funeral saw a fitting send-off for a man well-known as an able and honest politician, “a man of integrity and truth,” as current Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said. However, those in attendance had their attention drawn by chief celebrant and homilist Fr Bruce Bradley, SJ, to an aspect of Mr Bruton’s character…
Dear Editor, Mary Kenny in her article on St Brigid’s many adaptations by various elements in society refers to St Joan of Arc, who has suffered the same treatment [The Irish Catholic – February 1, 2024]. The great Pucelle of France has been adapted by some unlikely groups from war mongers to radical feminists. Joan…
The Catholic Difference The traditional Lenten practices of intensified prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are spiritual disciplines to be followed along the six-week pilgrimage from Ash Wednesday to the Easter Triduum. As I suggested in Roman Pilgrimage: The Station Churches, that journey can be lived as a kind of annual catechumenate-for-the-already-baptized, in which we join the…
There’s a theory that if women ruled the world, the world would be a nicer, kinder place – and politics less confrontational. It hasn’t always been borne out by female leaders from history, who, from Catherine the Great to Margaret Thatcher have included warrior queens and steely autocrats. But now, Stormont is carrying out a…
The View On March 8, one of the amendments to our Constitution that you are being asked to vote on seeks to remove the recognition and protection given to the extraordinary role that women and mothers play in society. In fact, a ‘Yes’ vote would remove the word mother from the Constitution entirely. As well…
Despite enormous challenges there are many green shoots, and the process of reform and renewal is already underway, writes Michael Kelly It’s unlikely that mandarins in the Vatican pay a great deal of attention to political news coming out of Belfast, but there was a certain symmetry that Down and Connor’s new bishop was appointed…
The Church is concerned by a rise in eurosceptics, writes David Quinn For decades after World War II, the politics of Europe was characterised by great stability. Elections were almost always won by one of two political power blocs, either a centre-right Christian Democrat-style party, or a centre-left Social Democrat one. This has broken down.…
Emotion v Reason In this scenario a person with a touching personal story, but pushing an agenda, is pitted against a person on the other side who has just rational arguments. The latter person is on a hiding to nothing, coming across as heartless, insensitive and is put in a position where they are unable…
Wendy Grace
George Weigel
Mary Kenny
Michael Kelly
David Quinn
Brendan O’Regan