Jodi Marlin “To have…To hold…To honour: Supporting God’s gifts of love and life in marriage” was the theme of Natural Family Planning Awareness Week July 25-31 in the US. The annual educational campaign of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops aims to celebrate God’s vision for marriage and promote the methods of natural family planning…

At just 23, Luke-Peter Silke leads a very busy life. As well as studying Creative Writing in university, he is the secretarial assistant to Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín, a local representative for the same party and is active among many of the pro-life organisations around the country. Mr Silke believes it’s important that Catholic values…

The idea that you can’t say anything meaningful about what you don’t understand has a lot of intuitive appeal. If, after all, you know nothing whatsoever about the thing you’re talking about, then you can’t say anything whatsoever about it either. Imagine overhearing the following exchange: “I just happened across a Fringle.” “Oh cool! What’s…

New research suggests that the tell-tale signs of a stroke may be evident a decade before the life-threatening event, writes Chai Brady On the island of Ireland, more than 13,000 people have a stroke every year. About 205 of these will die as a result of the stroke. Time is of the essence, and medics have…

Personal Profile Fr Henry McCann is one of the few priests who can relive his ordination in full, even though it took place 25 years ago. The parish priest and hospital chaplain recently celebrated his Silver Jubilee, and, in light of the occasion, had a look at the video footage of the ceremony that took…

Painting is an activity for any time of year, but it’s great for occupying the family during the long summer days, writes Jason Osborne I feel as though everyone has some painting experience buried in their past, even if it’s as simple as a former primary school activity or something our parents occupied us with as children.…

Personal Profile The Church’s emphasis on older people as “treasures of the Church” and “teachers of wisdom and prayer” is a much-needed antidote to our age’s tendency to side-line the elderly. So says Catherine Wiley, founder of the Catholic Grandparent’s Association (CGA) and herself a mother and grandmother. She and the CGA have been on…

With Europe cautiously emerging from Covid, knowing the new terms under which we travel is essential, writes Jason Osborne Following a 16 month hibernation, Europe is slowly emerging into the bright light of day once again. The member states are slowly, cautiously emerging from their isolation to a new world, one in which people are…

Personal Profile On July 6, Mr Peter Dunn was awarded a Papal Honour by the Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Dermot Farrell. Archbishop Farrell said the award recognised Mr Dunn’s “tireless” work for the Radharc Trust “to ensure that the Radharc programmes and the essential Christian values they embody should not be forgotten”. Mr Dunn self-deprecatingly…

Acquired Brain Injury Ireland marks 21 years of service for brain injury survivors and their families across Ireland, writes Jason Osborne Acquired Brain Injury Ireland (ABII) recently celebrated its 21st birthday, the organisation being set up in 2000 to meet a need to provide “life-changing, specialised neuro-rehabilitation” for people in Ireland whose lives have been…