Dear Editor, Thanks to you and the team for the brilliant coverage of the Ukraine crisis from the border in Poland [The Irish Catholic – April 21, 2022]. It really highlights the wonderful efforts Catholic religious orders and charities are doing to help the millions of refugees escaping the war, most of which have gone…
The very mixed emotions experienced by priests in pastoral ministry as they deal with the ups and downs of their parishioners often leads to a wry, even black humour. Behind it often lies a deeper message. I remember a priest saying to me once of another cleric: “oh, he doesn’t suffer from depression – but…
Ever since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1992, and especially since Russia’s recent brutal invasion of Ukraine, there has been a queue of European nations applying to join NATO – the western military alliance led by the United States. Fourteen new states joined between 1999 and 2020, and the most recent applicants are…
Shannon Campbell The View On Ash Wednesday past, our chaplain, Fr Dominic McGrattan, invited students to consider what it is that makes a cross a crucifix? Crosses, we know, come in all shapes and sizes. Some are jewelled, others are intricately carved. I wear one my grandmother gave me when I was a child. What…
The Church in Germany’s synodal pathway is the biggest threat to Church unity since the Reformation, writes David Quinn The Catholic Church in Germany has embarked on what it calls a ‘synodal pathway’ to re-examine teachings and practices of the Church in light of the abuse scandals. But the path it appears to wish to…
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin once said something to the effect that we reach moral maturity on the day we realise that, ultimately, we have to choose: genuflect before something higher than ourselves or begin to self-destruct! Simone Weil had a similar idea. She consistently affirmed that our deepest longing was to find someone or something…
I’m writing these reflections in Holy Week and later this evening I will join my colleagues to celebrate the Chrism Mass during which we will renew the promises made at ordination. Much has changed since that July evening in 1986 when I first made those promise and so this annual renewal causes me to reflect…
Dear Editor, Thank you for your continued focus on the synodal pathway on which the Church in Ireland is not embarked. It is long overdue, but must not be allowed to become a ‘talking shop’ that goes nowhere dominated by the sort of people we all remember at meetings during our professional career. Thankfully I…
For the believer, Holy Week and Easter are the culmination of the Faith when we mark the saving death and lifegiving resurrection of the Saviour. Even if some people sometimes relegate Easter to a mere festival of over-indulgence in chocolate eggs, the glory of this festival transformed our world. The Carpenter of Nazareth revealed in…
Emmanuel Macron, who is likely to remain President of France, was educated mainly by the Jesuits, at the Lycée la Providence in Amiens, and he chose to be baptised a Catholic at the age of 12. And according to a poll carried out by Ifop, 28% of French Catholics voted for him in the first…
Michael Kelly
Mary Kenny
David Quinn
Fr Ronald Rolheiser