Notebook Fr Bernard Healy As October rolls around again, I return to Rome to resume my studies. My first fortnight back will coincide with two significant events. On Saturday October 5, Pope Francis will be creating 13 new cardinals, and a week later he will be canonising Blessed John Henry Newman, the subject of…
The View September is a month that means back to school for most families: new uniforms and bags are donned while the trees shed their leaves and the last of the summer sun wanes. It is an exciting time, full of expectation that the newness of a fresh start brings. It is, for Catholic parents…
The power of Satan is real, and we must pray to overcome it, writes Fr Pat Collins CM According to Pope Leo XIII’s private secretary, when the Pontiff had a vision of demonic spirits about to mount an attack on the city of Rome he wrote the prayer to St Michael the Archangel. It…
Catholics across Ireland, and most especially in Belfast, were left perplexed on Monday by the news that onetime top BBC journalist turned trainee nun Martina Purdy had left her Belfast convent, after being told that her congregation was too small to allow her and three other temporarily-professed sisters to continue in formation. In a statement…
Every September we read reports of disgruntled secular parents who object to the fact that their children are being taught about religion, in religious-ethos schools. I find it difficult to understand why a parent would send their child to a faith-based school, and then complain that faith values are taught there. However, I suppose we…
A ‘Green Pledge’ could be an important step forward, writes David Quinn What should the Church itself do about climate change? Some parishes now have climate change committees and various religious orders have long had a strong commitment to preserving the environment. Pope Francis has made it a central theme of his pontificate. The…
There is a danger that conscientious objection will only be allowed when it can make little difference, writes Dr Keith Holmes Conscious Objection in Health Care describes medical scenarios where clinicians refuse to engage in a clinical activity on the grounds that such participation would contravene their ethical moral or religious beliefs. While this…
Letter from Rome Under a Pope for whom ‘synodality’ is the buzzword par excellence, meaning broad consultation and shared decision-making, it probably should be no surprise that synods and their vicissitudes are destined to be the biggest Catholic drama over the months to come. We already know about the controversial Synod of Bishops for the Amazon…
Since Brexit has dominated the UK news for the past three years, it might be easy to miss the great strides being made by the government in promoting religious freedom in the same time period. The latest move has been to appoint Rehman Chishti, a Conservative Member of Parliament, as the new Prime Minister’s Special…
We quite naturally tend to think of the word ‘Christ’ as Jesus’ second name. We think of the name ‘Jesus Christ’ like we think of names like ‘Susan Parker’ or ‘Jack Smith’. But that’s an unhealthy confusion. Jesus didn’t have a second name. The word ‘Christ’ is a title which, while it includes the person…
Maria Steen
Greg Daly
Mary Kenny
David Quinn
John L. Allen Jr.
Fr Ronald Rolheiser