Sometimes all you can do is to put your mouth to the dust and wait. That’s a counsel from the Book of Lamentations and while perhaps not the best response to the recent revelations of clerical sexual abuse and cover-up in the Roman Catholic Church, it seems the only helpful response available to me as…
Pat O’Kelly The ever-assiduous Madeleine Flanagan of ‘Classical-links’ in Claregalway keeps me informed of events in the West. Her latest missive draws my attention to this year’s Westport Festival of Chamber Music taking place over the weekend September 7-9. Founded in 2013 by violinist Catherine Leonard and pianist Hugh Tinney, they continue to guide…
The Primate of All Ireland has said that “decisive action” against clerical abuse will be proof of whether the Pope’s visit to Ireland has been a success or not. Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland programme on August 27, Archbishop Eamon Martin said that Francis has taken lead in addressing the clerical abuse crisis, referencing a…
The World of Books by the Books Editor In recent years a new sort of library movement has got under way across Europe, which promises well, because it is created and run by ordinary people and depends on neither commerce nor the state to function. This is the little library movement. I first came…
The Notebook Fr Bernard Healy During the past 10 years of parish ministry, I’ve often been asked how priests deal with the sheer variety of our work. There are days when you have to go from a funeral to a baptism, or from a wedding reception to a deathbed. At all times the priest…
I’d need the full newspaper to do justice to all the media coverage of the World Meeting of Families and the papal visit, so I’ll stick to some of what stood out for me. First off, hats off to RTÉ’s religious programmes department and the outside broadcast units for the live coverage of last weekend’s…
The Pope in Ireland The closing Mass in Phoenix Park Christians face enormous challenges in bearing witness to their Faith, but must never be “swayed or discouraged” by those who resist it, the Pope has said. Speaking in Dublin’s Phoenix Park at the closing Mass of the World Meeting of Families, the Pope said…
One of the primary duties of the Pope is to confirm Catholics in their Faith. That is the principle motivation behind all papal travel. Irish Catholics experienced something of this during the momentous visit of Pope Francis at the weekend. Leading up to the Holy Father’s arrival, the media coverage was relentlessly negative. From fears…
People are fully behind Pope Francis’ efforts to tackle abuse and concealment of abuse in the Church, according to a Belfast priest who was sexually assaulted by a priest while a seminarian and who was one of eight survivors of clerical and institutional abuse who met the Pope on Saturday evening. Describing the encounter as…
A time of renewal lies ahead for the Church in Ireland, Pope Francis has assured the country’s bishops. Addressing members of the hierarchy before returning to Rome, the Pope said that while upheavals of recent years have tested the faith of the Irish people, they have also “offered the opportunity for an interior renewal of…
Fr Ronald Rolheiser
Peter Costello
Brendan O’Regan
Colm Fitzpatrick
Michael Kelly
Greg Daly