Bishop-elect Stephen Chow Sau-yan completed his noviciate in Ireland, continuing a 90-year link between the nations, Ruadhán Jones learned Jesuit bishops are a rare thing, largely because the Jesuits vow not to seek such offices and will only take up a bishopric if the Pope asks them directly. As such, it wasn’t easy for Fr…

By helping to weaken the clan system, Catholicism helped to pave the way for individual freedoms , writes David Quinn Western societies are ‘WEIRD’, that is to say, compared with almost everyone else who has ever lived, and is still alive today, we are much more individualistic and, in a certain way, non-conformist. Counter-intuitively, the…

Letter from Rome Let’s face it, labour complaining about management isn’t exactly new. Even the Gospel of Matthew records a scene of workers who’ve toiled all day in a vineyard grousing that Johnny-come-latelys who showed up just before quitting time were getting the same wage … and, in a template for such disputes throughout time,…

An expert on Chinese affairs has called Jesuit Fr Stephen Chow, the newly-named bishop of Hong Kong, a balanced choice for the Vatican as it attempts to navigate the complicated and rapidly changing on-the-ground status of the territory. Speaking of the appointment, Fr Bernardo Cervellera, head of AsiaNews, said that from what he can tell,…

Notebook Some people are lucky to have one ‘Uncle Jack’ as they grow up; I had two. My mother had a brother called Jack, and an uncle of the same name. Over time, each got his own suffix, to distinguish them: her brother became ‘Uncle-Jack-in-the-bank’ (who, when he retired, became ‘Uncle-Jack-in-Galway’) and her uncle was…

England was merry this past week as bars, restaurants, cinemas, theatres and art galleries opened up – Church services had been available for weeks. But people were urged to be cautious. The message from the authorities was insistant: “don’t think as an individual: think of how your behaviour may affect others.” Cultural nudge In its…

The View It is often overlooked that a major contributor to the opening up of Irish society from the early 1960s was the Vatican, when Pope John XXIII soon after his election summoned the Second Vatican Council. It had many outcomes and effects, but one of them, the ecumenical movement, was warmly received by many…