It’s good to see a high-profile drama series that takes religion seriously and doesn’t fall into too many lazy stereotypes. In Falling (Channel 4, Tuesdays and Wednesdays) Keeley Hawes excels as Sr Anna, who entered the convent at age 16 against the wishes of her mother. Twenty years later, a chance encounter with a young…
After covering some contentious issues in the last few weeks, I’m back on a positive trail this week. There have been some good news stories. On Morning Ireland (RTÉ Radio 1, Tuesday) Aaron McElroy reported from the ordination of young priest Fr Stephen Sherry in Monaghan. An increase of interest in vocations was noted along…
here is no lack of hot button issues. As soon as one is discussed and fades, another lands to take its place. It’s a queue of controversies. Last week RTÉ seemed to be throwing its weight behind moves to progress surrogacy legislation. No fewer than three speakers in favour were interviewed last Wednesday morning, while…
Here we go again – another effort in Leinster House to liberalise our abortion laws, courtesy of the Social Democrats. Is there not enough death? Party leader Holly Cairns TD was interviewed briefly on Today with David McCullagh (RTÉ One, Tuesday). The host challenged her with a relevant point – the people voted to repeal…
TVRADIO Brendan O’Regan In Ireland we do so much good stuff, and so much bad stuff. It’s not just a case of goodies and baddies, but good and bad struggling in all of us. Some of us are caring, some malicious, some just hapless. Sometimes it’s the dysfunctional systems we create. Over the years we…
I’m uneasy when politics, especially party politics, gets mixed up with religion. Commonly it is religion that suffers. Yet the Church has an imperative to speak out on social justice and moral issues. These thoughts were on my mind as I observed the rather bizarre goings on last week, widely covered in the media –…
The religious output of mainstream media channels is patchy – no specifically religious programmes at all in some cases, with significant input in others. BBC continues to impress with its commitment to their long-running pilgrimage-themed series. The latest version came to an end last week. Pilgrimage: The Road to Holy Island (BBC Two, Tuesday, with…
Holy Week tends to get the mainstream broadcasters to turn their minds to matters religious, with some excellent results this year. Oliver Callan (RTÉ Radio 1, Wednesday) had entertainment journalist Olivia Fahy discussing how Christ has been depicted in film. It was respectful, but chirpy, with lots of laughter, which didn’t quite suit the topic.…
Within the Catholic fold, there are all sorts of ways of being religious or spiritual – as the Mary Chapin Carpenter song says, “There’s a Keeper for Every Flame”. Some focus a lot on the sufferings of Jesus, and on various devotions not essential to the faith. There has been much interest scientifically and spiritually…
I’m very pleased to note programmes that give us a sense of hope. I found one this week. Ireland’s Catholics: Signs of Hope (EWTN, Friday) was a timely report from Colm Flynn about the current situation as regards faith in Ireland, especially in relation to young people. We saw 60 of them at a eucharistic…
Brendan O’Regan