“Francis has changed much in the workings of the Holy See, and the traditional bishops’ visits are not immune from this”, writes Michael Kelly At the Vatican press office on Friday morning, dozens of journalists waited patiently for the script of what Pope Francis would say to the Irish bishops present for their ad limina…
As Trump takes office, he and Francis share a Russia problem As Donald Trump takes office, he enters that vaguely defined set of “major world leaders”. Though we could debate who else belongs, it would include the Prime Minister of Britain, the Chancellor of Germany, the Secretary General of the UN, the President of Russia,…
Cathy Burke Cathy Burke describes a new choral project for Dublin’s primary schools Catholic Schools Week has long been welcomed in Ireland with many of its regular features, e.g. Grandparents Day, looked forward to eagerly. It is clearly of value to continue to celebrate the core events, but it is also important to give regular…
As Catholic Schools Week begins, the CPSMA’s Seamus Mulconry speaks with Paul Keenan With the closing of the first month of the year, it is all too clear to those across Ireland involved with – and in defending – Catholic education that 2017 is set to be as busy a period as the preceding 12…
Irish bishops felt encouraged to face challenges by their Roman encounter, writes Michael Kelly It’s easy to dismiss the traditional ad limina visits that bishops make to Rome as out-dated. In an age of email and instant messaging, it hardly seems necessary for bishops from all over the world to travel to Rome every five…
For some, he has blood on his hands. But, any objective judgement of Martin McGuinness reveals a remarkable man, writes Martin O’Brien Martin McGuinness, genial and ruthless guerrilla leader turned statesman, now fighting serious illness, has been one of the most significant figures in the history of these islands over the past five decades. From…
The latest revelations deserve greater attention, writes David Quinn Another report of another child abuse inquiry was published last week. This time, the inquiry, the Historical Institutional Abuse (HIA) Inquiry, chaired by retired judge Sir Anthony Hart, dealt with abuse in institutions in Northern Ireland. These institutions were run by the Catholic Church, by the…
“The law depends on evidence of what is said and what is done: the law cannot deal with the secret signals of the heart and the eyes which may be interpreted in any which way”, writes Mary Kenny Frances Fitzgerald, the Justice Minister, has a huge task before her in bringing legislation before the Oireachtas…
Monsignor Fernando Ocáriz Braña has been named as the new prelate of Opus Dei. The body’s former Auxiliary Vicar thus becomes the third successor to Saint Josemaria, and replaces Msgr Javier Echevarría, who died on December 12. Msgr Braña was born in Paris in 1944 to a Spanish family in exile. He graduated from the…
Students from the choir of St Mary’s College, Derry, singing at an ecumenical service at First Derry Presbyterian Church during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.
Michael Kelly
John L. Allen Jr.
Paul Keenan
Martin O'Brien
David Quinn
Mary Kenny
Courtney McGrail