Ecclesiastical structures are only useful if they allow our parishes to be vibrant places where people encounter God, writes Michael Kelly While all eyes were on the cabinet reshuffle of Taoiseach Simon Harris, officials in Rome were preparing to announce details of the Pope’s reshuffle of sorts of the Irish ecclesiastical landscape. While Ireland has…
It won’t be surprise to learn that Ireland is growing richer, and there are, in the words of a leading accountant, “an awful lot of people making money” in Ireland today. The number of ‘super-rich’ individuals – those with over €20 million in their possession – has increased by 200 over the past two years,…
Let’s value the gift the Lord has given to women religious as Brides of Christ, writes Martina Purdy An Anglican minister met me recently, a lovely woman who was very frank about a complaint made to her by an Anglican nun. This sister was frustrated at the lack of vocations to her convent in England. …
The Church must speak up for rights society is happy to ignore, writes David Quinn The late Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, who was the archbishop of Chicago, used to advocate an approach to Catholic social justice teaching that become known as ‘the seamless garment’. The idea behind it was that all social justice teachings belonged together…
Letter from Rome Matthew Santucci In the 2024 edition of the “Annuario Pontificio”, or Pontifical Yearbook, released last week, Pope Francis reinstated the ancient, honorary pontifical title of “Patriarch of the West”, reversing Pope Benedict XVI’s 2006 decision to suspend the title. This honorific designation has reappeared among the list of “historical titles” used to…
Notebook Like Ben Bulben, Fr John Carroll is a cherished landmark around Sligo! Like Ben Bulben, the shadow of his presence crosses county boundaries. For many years he was the chaplain in the town’s hospitals and continues to have a very active and pastoral presence to this day. It is impossible to put a number…
April 10, 2024 will be noted in the annals as a significant day for the Church in the west of Ireland, because after almost 900 years the number of dioceses in the province was reduced from six to three. Two years ago, a new bishop was appointed to Galway with responsibility for the diocese of…
Dear Editor, I fully agree with the sentiments expressed by Fr Barry Matthews, Fr Joe Deegan, and Fr Tom Ryan regarding online Mass [The Irish Catholic – April 11, 2024]. While livestreamed Mass has undoubtedly been a lifeline for many during times of restricted physical gathering, it is essential to recognise its limitations. The Mass…
The price of Irish unification has now been put at €20 billion over twenty years – the bill to be picked up by the Irish taxpayer. (Although these figures, as estimated by economist John FitzGerald, son of Garret, are disputed by some.) But as Ireland is reckoned to be one of the richest countries in…
The Government’s monumental defeat in the referendum showed how truly out of touch they were with the Irish people. The aftermath saw many calling for Fine Gael to get back to its Christian democratic roots with critics saying that too much time has been spent appeasing the woke brigade and too little on bread and…
Michael Kelly
Mary Kenny
Martina Purdy
David Quinn
Wendy Grace