Paul KeenanDes Kelly, ‘The Carpet Man’ has been remembered as a man of faith who worked tirelessly for the homeless and needy throughout his years of business success. As he was laid to rest in Ratoath, Co. Meath on Tuesday, Fr Gerry Stuart reminded mourners of the voluntary work undertaken by Mr Kelly over many years,…
Month: July 2016
Priest and former sacristan threatened in Northern burglaries
An Australian priest working in a West Belfast parish and a couple living next to a Co. Tyrone parochial house may have been threatened by the same armed intruders. Fr Denis Ryan (70) from Ballarat, Victoria, was providing holiday cover at St Michael the Archangel Church in Andersontown for a second successive year when two…
Priest blames poor treatment of refugees on racist attitude
Rachel Beard A Co. Laois-based parish priest has hit out against an attitude towards refugees and asylum seekers in Ireland which he has branded as “racist”. Fr Paddy Byrne of Portlaoise told The Irish Catholic he believes “that there’s an underbelly in Irish society that’s quite cynical to refugees and a great sense of xenophobia where…
Pope’s envoy brings message of peace to South Sudan
Cardinal Peter Turkson has travelled as Pope Francis’ special envoy to troubled South Sudan to deliver a message of peace to rival leaders in the nation. The head of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace carried letters from the Pontiff for President Salva Kiir and for Vice President Riek Machar, the leaders of the…
16th-Century Christian inscriptions found in Caribbean
Courtney McGrailArchaeologists have uncovered Christian inscriptions dating to the 16th Century in a cave on the Caribbean island of Mona. The cave, described as being at least half a mile in length, had already proved a rich source of indigenous art when researchers uncovered cross markings which led to Bible inscriptions in both Latin and Spanish. …
Remembering a childhood commitment
Julieann Moran tells Rachel Beard about her lifelong enthusiasm for missionary work
Our failure to truly understand mental fragility can be fatal
Fr Ronald RolheiserAs a young boy, I longed to be a professional athlete but I had to soon accept the unwelcome fact that I simply wasn’t gifted with an athlete’s body. Speed, strength, coordination, instinct, vision… I got by in ordinary life with what I had been given of these, but I wasn’t physically robust enough to…
New Trekkies boldly go where the rest of us have been before
Aubrey Malone
Star Trek Beyond (12A)
Struggles in faith, redemption in soccer
Brendan O’Regan
A documentary on seminary life leaves Brendan O’Regan reflecting on the state of religious faith
A vision of a Church looking to the future
Peter CostelloThe Church Always in Need of Reform by Gabriel Daly OSA (Dominican Publications, €19.99)