An effort by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras of Greece to start severing ties between the state and the Greek Orthodox Church, including taking priests off civil service payrolls, has opened up divisions within the church which has played a dominant role in the country’s life for centuries. Mr Tsipras and the head of the Orthodox…
Down to Earth: Politics in the New Climatic Regime by Bruno Latour (Polity Press, £12.99 pb) Frank Litton It was not so long ago that the path of history was clear. It was a story of progress towards more liberal, secular, democracies. Europe and the US where the modern world had been invented and from where it…
Almost 370 nurses and midwives have signed a petition calling on Health Minister Simon Harris to consult with them regarding amendments they are calling for to abortion legislation. Nurses&Midwives4Life Ireland have expressed concerns that their right to conscientious objection will not be respected under the current legislation. The group said that the participation in termination…
Ireland’s largest women’s retreat this year was a “tremendous success”, according to organisers delighted by the presence of 250 women from Ireland and across Europe. Tipperary’s Emma Sisk, ground coordinator in Ireland for the US-based Blessed is She ministry, said the retreat at the Emmaus Centre in Swords, Co. Dublin, had exceeded expectations. “It was…
While parishes might bemoan the fact that some Massgoers pass the collection basket on rather than reaching into their pocket, a church in the Netherlands has come up with a novel way to exist in an increasingly cashless society. Parishioners in Utrecht can now tap their donation at a contactless payment terminal at the local…
Codebreaker: The untold story of Richard Hayes, the Dublin librarian who helped turn the tide of World War II by Marc McMenamin (Gill Books, €16.99) Felix M. Larkin “Ghosts hover / Lyster, Hayes, Henchy, / And those who served them”: thus in 2007 did Gerard Lyne, formerly Keeper of Manuscripts in the National Library of Ireland, recall in…
Youth Space Retreats give us time to stop and think about ourselves and God, writes James McNamara For most teenagers, the prospect of a class outing creates a sense of anticipation, excitement, adventure and fun. A break from school, an opportunity to relax, but Ms Ronan’s next two words rang alarm bells: ‘Lough Derg.’…
Just over half of all Belgians (52%) say they are Catholics, according to a survey carried out by the Church for its first-ever annual report, but fewer than one in ten attends Mass a minimum of once a month. Since it is the first report of its kind in Belgium, it makes no comparison between…
Doctors working in end-of-life care believe the assisted suicide movement is hurting attempts to build a serious palliative care culture, Senator Ronan Mullen has said. Speaking against the background of the publication of a Council of Europe report entitled ‘The Provision of Palliative Care in Europe’, for which Senator Mullen acted as rapporteur, Mr Mullen…
Our natural instincts serve us well, to a point. They’re self-protective and that’s healthy too, to a point. Let me explain. Recently I was at a football game with a number of friends. We arrived at the game in two cars and parked in the stadium’s underground parking lot. Our tickets were in different parts…
Greg Daly
Fr Ronald Rolheiser