Church officials fear that newly revised religious affairs regulations released by the Chinese government, supposedly aimed at protecting national security, will be used to further suppress religious activities. Earlier in September, Premier Li Keqiang announced that a state council order on the new regulations would take effect on February 1. Anthony Lam, executive secretary of…
A Kenyan cardinal has called on politicians to restrain their supporters in the lead up to Kenya’s second election after the previous vote tally was annulled. Cardinal John Njue, the current Archbishop of Nairobi, called for dialogue instead of violence. As tensions grow between the current Jubilee government and its main opposition the National Super…
A former refugee on the precipice of suicide was saved by her Church and friends after escaping war and a direct provision centre. Natalia Tsadzikidze, from Clondalkin in Dublin, escaped Georgia in Eastern Europe during a time of political tension and violence in the country. She is now a naturalised Irish citizen. Mrs Tsadzikidze felt like…
Fr Vincent Sherlock I’d not like to be in Dublin these days and especially not after the full time whistle blew on the ‘Third Sunday of September’, dealing yet another blow to Mayo’s dream of glory – a dream that, I’m convinced, will come true. Though a regular enough visitor, I’d not claim to know…
Be still and know that I am God. Scripture assures us that if we are still we will come to know God, but arriving at stillness is easier said than done. As Blaise Pascal once stated: “All the miseries of the human person come from the fact that no one can sit still for…
#Walk4Families 2017 On October 8 families across Ireland will be donning stripes to take part in The Ronald McDonald House Charity’s annual #Walk4Families event. The aim of the fundraising walk is to build a new 53-bedroom house in order to keep more families close to their child when they are seriously ill or undergoing…
Ruth Moriarty and Sinéad Keeley Although we didn’t travel to Africa until fifth year, our journey with the Schools and Health Foundation (SHF) began when we were much younger. We saw older girls come back from Africa who had helped to build schools in Sierra Leone. Inspired by the change we could make, we…
Daniel Miller It was six days before her death. We didn’t know it would only be six days, but we knew that Sarah would not grace us with her presence for much longer. And yet the temptation is to describe the occasion as rather lovely and certainly fun. She had offered us each a…
Q: My boyfriend and I have been going out for five years. We are both in our early 30s. I want to get married but he says he is not ready. How do I encourage him to take the next step, without giving him an ultimatum? A: Perhaps I would give a different answer…
Our seven-year-old has been busy writing computer programmes. He has become fascinated with a piece of software that enables kids to control a digital cat with simple instructions, such as: walk five steps; say “meow”; turn 90 degrees, and so on. It’s good to see him understand so naturally the basic logic that underpins…
Chai Brady
Fr Ronald Rolheiser
Wendy Grace
Rory Fitzgerald