I’ve often heard people say that faith is dying and that the Church is in decline, but I strongly disagree, says Estefania Pryma   As someone who grew up attending Catholic schools, participating in youth groups, and attending various Catholic events, you might think I had a deep connection to my faith from an early…

How do we live in a way that shows the Christian values and virtues without seeming exclusive or condescending?” “What scripture passages can offer hope?” “How can we deal with desolation?” These were just some of the questions asked by young adults at the fifth ‘CONNECT’ gathering in Cork, themed ‘In a Troubled World, Dare…

David Werning The dogmatic constitution from Vatican II, Lumen Gentium, promulgated 60 years ago, sets forth the nature and mission of the Church. It begins by naming Jesus as the “Light of the Nations” Lumen Gentium and head of the Church, which is his body and includes all the faithful. Jesus established the Church and…

Peter Kasko I was recently approached by a friend who asked me what is like to be a member of core/leadership team and the challenges that come with it. From the moment, it was like a flood of ideas coming to my mind and the flow was so quick that I just couldn’t keep track…

Kimberley Heatherington   The answer – according to an Institute for Human Ecology panel convened at The Catholic University of America in Washington – is basically this: It depends. There are “two big questions that hang over human life in digital reality right now,” announced Ross Douthat, a media fellow with the institute and New…

Rohith Kinattukara   You are excited. Finally you are at the Apple store to get the latest MacBook, one might say, everyone’s dream computer. You get back home and unbox your brand-new machine in all its glory and start typing away, sending emails, watching Netflix and maybe even doing some creative writing. Little do you…

Who do you say that I am?” It’s the question Jesus posed to the men closest to him, the one Peter answered with an unequivocal confession of faith in him as the Messiah and Son of God. The entirety of our Catholic faith rests on Peter’s response and, for 2,000 years, the Church has proclaimed…

St Laurence O’Toole, known in Irish as Lorcán Ua Tuathail, born in 1128 at Castledermot, Co. Kildare, Ireland, became renowned as a reformer, peacemaker, and man of deep faith. Laurence’s early life was marked by hardship; at just ten, he was handed over as a hostage to the King of Leinster, a political practice intended…

Gerard Bennett Every now and then, you realise that you are part of something historic, quite possibly, a once-in-a-lifetime moment. In that situation, you don’t want to miss anything; you know you want to recall each part of this special time. So it was when the relics of St Bernadette visited the Oblates of Mary…