In one sense, parishes in every country on earth are much the same; they consist mainly of ordinary Catholics, whose joys and sorrows are similar no matter how different their circumstances. These Catholics want to attend Mass, have their children baptised, arrange Catholic marriages and funerals and depend on the support of a praying community…
The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) is often lauded as the world’s most successful ever military alliance, and I for one am not about to ‘diss’ the role it played in providing protection for Western Europe against the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Supposedly, NATO is not just a military alliance, it is also…
In the way to lead scores of teenagers in an end-of-term retreat last week, my fellow faith leader and I stopped for a break. On mission in Co. Antrim – a long way from Antioch – the words of Venerable Fulton Sheen were ringing in our ears: “There’s God – and coffee!” As we turned…
Opponents of the three-day wait before an abortion may have won the first vote, but they haven’t won the argument, writes Eilís Mulroy Last week was a disappointing one for anyone who supports the life-saving three-day reflection period before an abortion. The Dáil voted by 86 votes to 70 to advance Sinn Féin’s…
Pope Leo is one of the most popular and well-respected public figures in the world today, and his humanity and holiness have earned him that popularity. When the President of Peru announced that Leo will be visiting in November, there were wonderful pictures of the Holy Father previously travelling by mule in that country. It…
The Holy See has declared that, if the Society of St Pius X (SSPX) proceeds with the ordination of bishops in July without a papal mandate, those involved in these illicit ordinations are automatically (latae sententiae) excommunicated — that is, excommunicated by their own acts. One may, indeed one should, hope that it does not…
Nobody understands the frantic search for a pen and scrap of paper quite like those of us who write. Whether you’re a poet, an author, or a student – we all experience the priceless feeling of being randomly gifted a tank of inspiration out of nowhere, ideas telepathically floating into your brain from an unknown…
As the classrooms go quiet and the schools close their doors for the summer, the Education Nation podcast also takes a break. As we do, we want to highlight a gross inequity hidden within the system which has emerged in our preliminary conversations with guests for season 2. School principals in Special Schools are being…
Maybe, in the face of all the negativity about the cost of – and reluctance about – starting a family, shouldn’t we honestly confront the facts of parenthood, and especially motherhood? There are many reasons why younger people say they are not having children – and as a recent Iona paper on rising childlessness pointed…
Christians in Belfast took to the hills last week – after violence and hatred erupted in our city once again. Frankly, I was ready for the hills myself at the thought of returning to the bad old days when Belfast made headlines for all the wrong reasons. But then, on the Feast of the Sacred…
Martina Purdy
Eilis Mulroy
Mary Kenny
George Weigel