Rome is a city that prides itself on having seen it all over the course of its millennia-long history, so much so that “Been there, done that” might well be the unofficial civic motto. Here’s how journalist Fabrizio Roncone summed up Roman reaction to the record heat this week, which reached an official peak of…

Kate Scanlon The United States endured a record number of mass killings in the first half of 2023, according to a new analysis. The report came in tandem with news that at least four people were killed in a mass shooting in Hampton, Georgia, south of Atlanta, on July 15. A database maintained by The…

In this ‘Notebook’ section of last week’s The Irish Catholic, Fr Bernard Cotter raised some very important points about the need to renew the Sacrament of Baptism in our parishes [The Irish Catholic – July 20, 2023]. He made a few suggestions of how this might happen and invited us to share any ideas we…

Sex and money: two of the major temptations that lure men and women into a fall. Perhaps previous generations might have said – two of the weapons used by the devil to entrap humans into the error of their ways. Interestingly, the phrase ‘struggling with his demons’ is still very much in use. On both…

The appalling abuse of girls by gangs of predatory men, or Tusla’s failure to protect vulnerable children in their care, makes for uncomfortable reading. That’s understandable. We’d all rather talk about the weather or RTÉ’s latest payments shenanigans. But there comes a point when it is incumbent on those in authority to take action –…

Over the coming months, the outcome of deliberations in Mary Immaculate College (MIC) will have far-reaching consequences for Catholic education in Ireland. As it stands, MIC is one of the last – if not the last – third level Catholic college that is entirely publicly funded. At the start of this year, there were three,…

There was a time when social policy was very strongly influenced by Catholic teaching. Now the opposite is often the case. It is a classic example of the pendulum swinging first one way and then the other. But when the Church had a great deal of influence in the country it was for a reason;…

Discussions in Ireland about Catholic education often occur between two people with deep-rooted ideals who are not listening to one another – this dilemma does not lead to the vital “shared understanding” a Dublin City University (DCU) academic is striving for in his new podcast. Dr David Kennedy, Assistant Professor of Religious Education in Dublin…

Judith Sudilovsky Cardinal-designate Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, expressed the need to respect and protect the life and dignity of Palestinians during a July 10 visit to Jenin, following the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the city July 5. “I see another face of resilience. I see people suffering, people experiencing the consequences of…