Cindy Wooden Pope Francis’ visit to Congo and his ecumenical pilgrimage to South Sudan put a face – actually, thousands of faces – on the horror of war. But he also seemed energised by the enthusiasm of the crowds in Kinshasa, Congo, and buoyed by traveling to Juba, South Sudan with Anglican Archbishop Justin Welby…

by John Harris OP Notebook It was the Thursday (February 18) after Ash Wednesday 1858 that the Lady first spoke to Bernadette. On the two previous occasions (February 11 and 14) the Lady had appeared to Bernadette she had said nothing. On this first Thursday of Lent the Lady asked Bernadette to come to the…

The good news about marriage is that it improves health. Mary Johnston, an Irish relationship counsellor, has endorsed studies published by the Universities of Luxembourg, and of Ottawa, which found that people between the ages of 50 and 89 had better health than singletons. Marriage can have the effect of diminishing diabetes – even a…

Our new public holiday created to commemorate Imbolc/St Brigid has come and gone. In Leo Varadkar’s announcement last January, the emphasis was already clear. “This will be the first Irish public holiday named after a woman. It marks the half-way point between the winter solstice and the equinox, the beginning of spring and the Celtic…

Pope Francis warns that an addiction to the occult still plagues Africa, writes David Quinn Pope Francis was in Africa last week visiting two very troubled countries, namely the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan, the newest nation on the continent. Congo has the biggest Catholic population in Africa, numbering 45 million in all.…

Even in the purest democracies, it’s a myth that elections are determined by the people. In reality, they’re determined by the people who actually vote – which, in the recent midterms in the US, was about 47% of those eligible to cast a ballot. Of course, the Catholic Church is not a democracy. Pope Francis,…

Jonathan Luxmoore Catholic religious orders have played a major role in channelling life-saving humanitarian aid across Ukraine since Russia’s February 2022 invasion, keeping hopes alive while continuing to minister to the country’s much-depleted Catholic communities. “Although some have had to leave, most religious priests and sisters have stayed on – and their witness has been…

Last week, a phonecall changed the course of the day. A friend told me he had gone to see An Cailín Ciúin the previous evening and encouraged me to go. I said I would. Later, speaking with another friend, I mentioned this to him and wondered if he’d be free to go along with me.…