I write this column in a state of shock – at the dramatic news of the death of Pope Francis. I saw the sad news breaking on Sky News last Monday morning. The general reaction was one of shock but not surprise, given the Pontif’s ill-health. Last Sunday, watching the coverage of the Easter ceremonies…
Two worlds. In one of them a tinpot Don Corleone called Power (Aidan Gillen) presides over a ruthless drugs ring. In the other, shellshocked ex-Afghanistan soldier Danny (Luke McQuillan) makes a bid for shared custody of his son with his long-suffering wife Gill (Jade Jordan), aided by kind-hearted social worker Kate (Louise Bourke) after a…
Pope Francis was a quite unique figure, a pastor whose achievements and teachings will come to be more and more appreciated in the decades, even centuries to come. Through him the Catholic Church, perhaps even the wider realm of Christianity as a whole, in all its varieties, may find a new and fitting direction, replete…
Richard Burton was the twelfth of thirteen children born in the Welsh village of Pontrhydyfen 100 years ago. His mother died two years later. Richard Jenkins – his birth name – would probably have spent his working life ‘down the mines’ like his father and most of the other male inhabitants of the village were…
In our largely Christian country, you might think that an act of forgiveness wouldn’t be that noteworthy, but maybe our residual faith has left the concept lagging behind. And so it was that on Drivetime (RTÉ Radio 1, Thursday) I first heard the story of the court case in which stabbing victim and army chaplain…
T.P. O’Mahony The Councils of the Church: A Short History, by Norman P. Tanner SJ (Herder & Herder, £14.99 / €20.00) The debate within the Catholic Church about conciliarism has waxed and waned since the 15th to the 19th centuries. The central question – where does ultimate authority in the Church reside, with…
J. Anthony Gaughan Beidh Tú Alright: An Irish Language Journey, by Joe McHugh (Red Stripe Press / Orpen Press, €19.99 / £17.99) This book is an illuminating and eventful account of a Donegal man’s journey through often conflicting aspects of Irish life, culture and language. Everyone , but especially those who are doubtful on the…
On Thursday, April 3 2025, the International Theological Commission published a statement on this anniversary entitled Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour: 1700th Anniversary of the Ecumenical Council of Nicaea (325-2025). The statement emphasises that the faith of Nicaea is the faith common to all Christians. “The year 2025 is therefore an invaluable opportunity to…
Swift Blaze of Fire – Olympian, Cleric, Brigadista: the Enigmatic Life of Robert Hilliard, by Lin Rose Clark, (Lilliput Press, €18.95 / £14.95) On February 22 1937, Reverend Robert Hilliard died of his wounds at Castellón, in eastern Spain. It was a singular end to the life of a remarkable Church of Ireland clergyman. There…
I’ve often wondered if ‘Cultural Catholicism’ is better than no Catholicism. It may be more a matter of routine and cultural identity than deep faith, but at least people are arguably, however superficially, on the right track, which may eventually lead them to something deeper. As Doris Day sang: ‘Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps’. This becomes especially…
Brendan O’Regan
Aubrey Malone
Peter Costello
Renata Milán Morales