A leading pro-life obstetrician has said that there is no justified medical incentive or reason to repeal the Eighth Amendment in Ireland, and that medical opinion is being overshadowed by personal views. Speaking at the launch of Save the 8th’s referendum campaign last week, Dr John Monaghan, who is based at Portiuncula Hospital in Ballinasloe,…
Vincent de Paul: The Lazarist Mission and French Catholic Reform by Alison Forrestal (Oxford University Press, £70) Clear Vision: the life and legacy of Noel Clear, Social Justice Champion, 1937-2003 by Gerry Jeffers (Veritas, €16.99) Daire Keogh Vincent de Paul (1581-1660) is synonymous with charity and virtue, but, in Ireland his popular acclaim rests largely on the…
Colm Fitzpatrick explores confusion around Easter recycling Easter is a time of spiritual reflection and celebration where families come together and, in many cases, indulge in chocolate eggs and all things confectionary. But now that the festivities have wrapped up, what exactly should you do with the chocolate-smudged wrappings? With so many bins and…
The ban on women’s ordination is not based on theological speculation, but on the Apostolic tradition of the Church, writes Fr Vincent Twomey SVD On the Feast Day of our national Saint, the Irish Independent published a two-page article by management consultant Eddie Molloy: ‘Church must face appalling vista of its abominable treatment of…
A top official with Catholic Relief Services, visiting northern Iraq, said new life is evident for those who suffered the injustices and atrocities of the so-called Islamic State invasion of their ancestral lands but some grave challenges remain. “I see the hope of the Resurrection, while still the experience of the Cross is the reality…
A new poll shows that 73% of respondents who identified as Catholic said they would be attending church for Easter, with 53% of all Americans saying they planned to attend church services on Easter Sunday. Among respondents who said they were practicing Catholics, 95% said they planned to go to Easter Mass. For Good Friday,…
Fifty years after the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination, “we need to ask ourselves if we are doing all we can to build the culture of love, respect and peace to which the Gospel calls us”, US bishops have said. In reflecting on Rev. King’s life and work, “what are we being asked to…
The theory of relativity tells us that space and time are not what they appear to be. They’re relative, meaning that don’t always function in the same way and they aren’t always experienced in the same way. Time can stand still. Or can it? This side of eternity, it would seem not. Ever since the…
Catholic officials in El Salvador expressed outrage and sadness after the assassination of a 31-year-old priest during Holy Week, in what some suspect may be a gang killing. Authorities said Fr Walter Vasquez Jimenez was traveling with parishioners to officiate a Holy Thursday Mass in San Miguel when their car was stopped by an armed…
The GAA Immortals: 100 Gaelic Games Legends by John Scally (Black & White Publishing, €21.00) This is a compilation of biographical sketches of footballers, hurlers and team-managers who were household names in the GAA world during the last 100 years. The list of 55 footballers begins with Dick Fitzgerald. He won five All-Ireland championships for Kerry…
Colm Fitzpatrick
Fr Ronald Rolheiser