It’s time to switch on the lights for youth ministry, writes Colm Fitzpatrick Earlier this month, Archbishop Eamon Martin spoke to thousands of young people from across England and Wales about the power of faith, and the vital role that they play in evangelisation today. Addressing around 10,000 Catholics at the 2019 Flame Conference…
Michael Otto New Zealand’s Catholic bishops expressed horror and distress at a terrorist attack in two mosques in Christchurch that saw at least 49 people killed. The shootings took place at or near the Al Noor Mosque, where 41 people were killed, and at the Linwood Mosque, where seven were killed. One more person…
We don’t know how to celebrate things as they’re meant to be celebrated. We want to, but mostly we don’t know how. Generally we celebrate badly. How do we normally celebrate? By overdoing things; by taking a lot of the things we ordinarily do, drinking, eating, talking, singing, and humouring, and bringing them to excess.…
Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger was the Archbishop of Paris until he retired in 2005. Lustiger – a convert from Judaism – was a towering figure in the global Church and considered a key ally in the reforms of Pope St John Paul II. Among the projects Cardinal Lustiger himself embraced with gusto was the reform of…
Dear Editor, Many dioceses are engaging in ‘listening’ processes which on the face of it is commendable. However, one must ask what qualities are required to “listen”? Surely no institution can embark on a successful ‘listening’ programme without (i) effectively addressing the reason for embarking on such a listening programme which does of course reflect…
The Notebook I suspect very few people would choose Ash Wednesday as one of their favourite days of the year. I have to admit that in recent times the first day of Lent has become a day I do look forward to. A number of years ago, together with my colleague from the neighbouring…
Revolutions don’t always happen with riots in the streets, or even ordered declarations of a new national order. Revolutions sometimes take place quietly, when nobody is paying attention, or by slow, gradual, incremental change. Back in 1989, a revolution began which none of us even knew about. Sir Tim Berners-Lee, a British engineer and computer…
The View There are billboards for Hozier’s new album, Wasteland, Baby!, all over the place. In a Guardian Question and Answer session the singer (Andrew Hozier-Byrne) revealed that he has Seamus Heaney’s last words tattooed on his arm. Seamus Heaney had texted ‘noli timere’ which means, “do not be afraid”, to his wife, Marie,…
Good and evil are things we actively choose, writes David Quinn Fr Pat Collins wants us to confront a very uncomfortable thought: evil is real. In the West, we often like to pretend that evil does not exist, or if it does, can be reduced to psychological categories. In his new book, Freedom from…
Letter from Rome Elise Harris This year’s Roman celebration of International Women’s Day happened to fall in a moment when Pope Francis has been drawing some fire over women’s issues, in part for using allegedly sexist language during a recent sex abuse summit and also for a perceived lack of progress on his repeated…
Colm Fitzpatrick
Fr Ronald Rolheiser
Michael Kelly
Mary Kenny
Breda O'Brien
David Quinn