When Friedrich Nietzsche declared that “God is dead” he added a question: What kind of a sponge does it take to wipe away a whole horizon? I often ask that question because just in my own lifetime there has been an unprecedented decline in the number of people who go to church regularly and, more…
Fr Vincent Sherlock Two days before the celebration of Confirmation in our parish we gathered for a short practice. I looked at the group of 38 boys and girls preparing for Confirmation (as an aside, the 38, typical, I would say, of many parishes like my own, represent the total number of pupils in senior…
“People speak of a fresh and increasing enthusiasm for youth ministry”, writes Michael Kelly A Nigerian priest once told me that there were so many Irish priests in his homeland when he was growing up he just assumed that Jesus was Irish. For him – and most other Catholics in Nigeria – the spread of…
“To say that he suffered from a ‘mental illness’ is to suggest that people with a mental illness are inclined to be psychopathic killers”, writes Mary Kenny I’ll never forget Michael Parkinson, the television host, telling me about his experiences as a young reporter in the north of England during 1966, when he was sent…
It’s wrong for clerics to use the excuse of a past overemphasis on fire and damnation to avoid talk of the reality of rejecting God, writes David Quinn Pope Francis has something of a cuddly image with the general public and with many priests. The Association of Catholic Priests (ACP), for example, wants the incoming…
Finola Kennedy The Jesuit Pope might visit the shrine of a colleague, but there’s another nearby tomb he could consider as well, writes Finola Kennedy When stepping down from the role of Taoiseach, both Charlie Haughey and Brian Cowen quoted household names: William Shakespeare and John F. Kennedy respectively. Not so Bertie Ahern who quoted…
Dear Editor, Fr Eugene Duffy and the staff of Mary Immaculate College are to be congratulated on organising a seminar entitled ‘Reimagining Sacramental Preparation’. Up to the present, our evangelising was based on a very simple strategy. The parents had the Faith and practiced it as a family and as part of the parish community.…
My first love was literature, novels and poetry. As a child, I loved story books, mysteries and adventures. In grade school, I was made to memorise poetry and loved the exercise. High school introduced me to more serious literature, Shakespeare, Kipling, Keats, Wordsworth, Browning. On the side, I still read story books, cowboy tales from…
Recently my brother and his wife renovated our family home where we all grew up. I was very happy that along with the many wonderful changes they have made they retained the Sacred Heart lamp and picture which had been there since my late father and mother moved in almost 60 years ago. The practice…
“You’d want to be a fool not to be aware of the powerful forces that are at work”, writes Michael Kelly Hardly a week goes by without more venom and innuendo against Catholics and their faith in the mainstream media. Now, here’s where certain commentators try to accuse Catholics of media-bashing. But, that’s often little…
Fr Ronald Rolheiser
Michael Kelly
Mary Kenny
David Quinn