Philosophy should be understood as a manner of living and not just an exercise done in an armchair or a classroom writes Dr Philip Gonzales It is often said that philosophy deals with the deepest human realities such as birth and death and this is, indeed, true. Moreover, it is also true, as Socrates famously…
Letter from Beirut Doreen Abi Raad A year after the catastrophic Beirut port blast, the wounds of the people in Lebanon are scarred by the memory of the tragedy, and cries for justice escalate. This year, August 4 was declared a national day of mourning in Lebanon. Clutching a framed photograph of her husband Elie,…
In rediscovering what it means to be Italian, will the faith that has defined the country for centuries be reconsidered asks John L. Allen Fifty years from now, Italians now alive probably will still smile whenever someone mentions the summer of 2021, what’s now being described as the greatest summer in the history of Italian…
Reading the Letters of Dorothy Day recently, I ran into this line, “doubtless we need a Savonarola as well as a St Francis”. She was speaking about what spirituality needs in order to be healthy and balanced. That triggered something inside me, something I have never been able to sort out. I have always been…
Notebook In recent days four people of my acquaintance have tested positive for Covid-19. The four are from different age groups and all have been fully vaccinated in recent months. In all four cases, the positive test has meant that their families and others within their circles are isolating. This personal experience is having a…
Dear Editor, As Clomaney country music festival, Fleadh Cheoil, Galway races, and the ploughing championships are all cancelled, I decided to do something this summer. So instead of a staycation I did a praycation. So off to Holy Cross Abbey in Rostrevor, Co. Down for a week. The experience was silent especially with the monks…
It was both predictable and inevitable that the Vatican’s “trial of the century”, featuring fraud and embezzlement charges against Italian Cardinal Angelo Becciu and nine other individuals plus three corporate entities, and with the participation of attorneys representing other interested parties such as the Secretariat of State, would begin Tuesday with a whimper rather than…
On RTE a few days ago, HSE boss, Paul Reid, praised young people for coming forward for vaccinations in such large numbers thereby showing such great solidarity with older people. He linked it to similar acts of solidarity by this age group in recent years. Was he referring to the marriage and abortion referendums of…
Picture the scene: sports day in a Catholic school in Grenoble, France, in February 1856, and a confident 15-year-old student named Henri Didon wins three gold medals. This was no ordinary sports day, though. It was ‘The Olympic Games of Rondeau’. This quadrennial school festival was inaugurated in 1832, six decades before the first modern…
Dear Editor, The Church can never permit marriage of its clergy as long as it continues to stand against artificial contraception. If priests marry, it is only to be expected they will have children. But how many children? If a priest produces only a few offspring, he will be suspected of practicing birth control. In…
John L. Allen Jr.
Fr Ronald Rolheiser
David Quinn