It is hardly a contested statement to suggest that Donald Trump is not a universally-loved President of the United States. Polls carried out in Continental Europe show him to have very low likeability ratings: 77% of the French have an unfavourable view: 79% of the Germans, ditto. In Spain, his unfavourability rate rises to 80%…
Before settling in Ireland, Bro. Esteban Beltran grew up in Guadalajara in a Mexican family which did not practice its Catholic faith. “We used to go to church for funerals and weddings and baptisms,” he said. “We never went every Sunday or for Christmas or for Easter.” He grew into a depressed teenager who did…
If sacramental preparation moves out of schools, the first and hardest hit will be those on the margins—the children whose families are already struggling with poverty, instability or fractured relationships with the Church writes Roisín Coll My final class of the semester met this week. It was a room full of soon-to-qualify Catholic primary…
Community Connect, Ireland’s national Baby Bank Charity, invites everyone to embrace the true spirit of Advent this season by supporting its Christmas campaign, ‘A Bundle of Love this Christmas’. dvent is a sacred time—four weeks of hope, preparation and quiet anticipation as we await the coming of the Christ-child at Christmas. It is a season…
The latest “no” from Rome on women deacons has landed with a familiar thud. For many, it is disappointing. For some, especially women who love the Church yet feel blocked by it, it is deeply painful. But if we’re honest, it is not surprising. The Vatican commission’s refusal to recommend the ordination of female deacons,…
Why do people leave religion? What happens to them afterwards? Why do people switch from one religion to another, and what happens after that? These are the main questions posed by a major new survey in Britain that polled almost 3,000 people who have either left religion or joined a new one in their lifetime.…
Congrats on Herzog, now reinstate Villa Spada Dear Editor, this is a letter to An Taoiseach Micheal Martin, Tánaiste Simon Harris and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and Minister for Defence Helen McEntee. We wish to commend you on your opposition to the proposal to rename Herzog Park. As Irish citizens who place great…
When I was growing up, there was nothing I wanted each Christmas more than a toy robot. Those were the days of TV shows like Lost in Space in which ‘Robby the Robot’ featured. Every little boy wanted a robot of his own. In would go the batteries, the thing would make some noise, walk…
The 30th anniversary of the 1995 divorce referendum has been recently commemorated, with, naturally, those opposed to divorce cast as the baddies. Yet it’s interesting to note how rare divorce or marital separation has been among Ireland’s political leaders. In a readable new book charting the lives and careers of the sixteen Irish Taoisigh over…
In a speech to the American Bar Association in July 2000 the then Tánaiste (Deputy Prime Minister) and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Mary Harney, made a profound observation about Celtic Tiger Ireland. “Geographically”, she said, “we are closer to Berlin than Boston. Spiritually, we are probably a lot closer to Boston than Berlin.”…
Mary Kenny
Martina Purdy
David Quinn