Everyday Philosophy If you do something voluntarily, it must be because you wanted to do it, at least in some sense. This apparently innocent statement can in the hands of some philosophers have quite disturbing implications. First, let’s think about the statement itself. It is true as far as it goes. Even if you do…
Personal Profile In the 1970s, the then Superior General of the Jesuit’s – Fr Pedro Arrupe, called by some the second founder of the Jesuits – had what Fr John Guiney SJ calls “a tremendous insight”: in order for the Jesuits to promote and preach the Faith, they must also promote justice. It was this…
We are standing in a liminal space, an in-between space, how things were and how things may be in the future. Over the past year we have been unmoored, disconnected from our usual routines and while there has been an experience of loss there has also for many been an experience of gift, of being…
It is not enough today to be merely a saint; we must have a saintliness demanded by the present moment. Simone Weil wrote that, and she is right. We need saints demanded by the present moment and I would like to propose someone whom, I believe, fits that description, Henri Nouwen, the priest and popular…
Myself and my husband are of course, like everyone, so happy at the prospect of a return to some normality – but I am worried about balancing this return to a new normal while not leaving behind some of the things that we learned during the pandemic. What your feeling shows is really good emotional…
Malian mother gives birth to nonuplets A Malian woman has given birth to nine babies, which is two more than the doctors had detected during scans. 25-year-old Halima Cisse gave birth to the nonuplets in Morocco. Mali’s government flew her there as she required specialist care. “I’m very happy,” her husband told the BBC. “My…
Studying is difficult at the best of times, but especially as the weather turns for the better, writes Jason Osborne A number of friends of mine have been settling down to study recently as one test or another reared its head. The studies range from college to exams for work, but the fundamentals remain the same. In ordinary…
Personal Profile Vocations Sunday 2021 marked the culmination of ten years hard work for Brother – now Father – Damian Casey OFM, as he was ordained to priesthood by Archbishop of Dublin Dr Dermot Farrell. It was a joyous day for Fr Damian, whose path to the priesthood was a long one, he says. “It’s…
Medical Matters Over one billion people globally have now received at least one dose of a Covid vaccine. While this may sound encouraging, it only represents about 14% of the world’s population with notable differences in vaccine roll out by country. Israel now takes the place at the top of league table with over 50%…
Like many parents, thanks to the lockdown, I’ve been moonlighting as a hairdresser. With the actual hairdressers being closed these last months, we’ve had no choice but to take matters into our own hands. My wife even ordered a proper hairdressers’ scissors and combs online, to give us an undeserved air of professionalism. With these…
Ben Conroy
Ruadhán Jones
Bairbre Cahill
Fr Ronald Rolheiser
Wendy Grace
Dr Kevin McCarroll