A young Malian migrant said “God helped me” after becoming an internet sensation this week for climbing four floors to rescue a child hanging from a balcony in France. Dubbed by fans ‘Le-Spiderman’, France’s President Emmanuel Macron gave the former illegal immigrant citizenship status for his courage. He was also offered a job by the…
Eighth Amendment While the Church can never become a cult of the perfect, it has to help each of us along the narrow road to a deeper relationship with God, writes Fr John Harris OP The tsunami of the vote in favour of abortion was no silent revolution, it was the biggest wake-up call…
Boys and girls across Ireland are being tasked with a unique challenge – to design Pope Francis clothes. Pope Francis’ charity for overseas mission, World Missions Ireland (WMI), are commemorating the Pontiff’s visit for the World Meeting of Families (WMOF) this August by gifting him with a specially designed set of vestments. Julieann Moran, National…
Letter from America It was an interesting moment – a disturbing as well as inspiring one. I was listening to an early morning National Public Radio programme – the award-wining public affairs All Things Considered – and the interviewer was speaking to the survivor of prolonged and horrific clerical sex abuse. It had the…
A Virgin Mary statue at a Hispanic Catholic church in southeastern New Mexico is drawing visitors from around the region because it appears tears are flowing from the statue’s face. Visitors of the bronze statue located inside the auxiliary building of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church said the statue wept. “There were tears coming down…
Almost three out of four Irish Catholics now believe it is time for the Church to mount a tactical retreat from education and divest many schools to the State, according to an online poll of readers of The Irish Catholic. The findings also reveal that people believe this will allow the Church to devote more…
Achill: The Island poems by John F. Deane, paintings by John Behan (Currach Press, €19.99 /£14.99) John F. Deane is that rarity, a modern Irish poet deeply inspired in his poetry by what he calls in his introduction “the wonders of the Christian faith”. He himself was born on Achill Island in 1943, and his childhood…
Paulina Guzik He may be one of the figures closest to the Pope and a soon-to-be Prince of the Church, but Cardinal-designate Konrad Krajewski hardly spends his time moving in circles of wealth and power. Instead, his milieu is among those that don’t have anything: the poor, the homeless and migrants. Krajewski, 54, invites…
Colm Fitzpatrick writes about a rare syndrome impacting Irish families today “I love what I’m doing because I can see the difference it’s making. I can see the difference it’s making to families.” These words come from a passionate mother fighting for the voices of suffering parents and children to be heard loud and clear.…
Eighth Amendment The Church should no longer depend upon State funding for pastoral initiatives, even when they seem to coincide with the good of society, writes Bishop Kevin Doran I awoke last Saturday with a heavy heart because it was already clear that the people of Ireland had voted by a significant majority in…
Chai Brady
Peter Costello
Colm Fitzpatrick