Fr Ray Kelly says he will not quit RTÉ1’s Dancing With The Stars despite receiving abusive emails, letters and threatening phone calls demanding his departure from the show. The Co Meath priest, 66, has been the subject of a hate campaign for his continuing presence on the show, which has made him consider leaving. “I…
A parent’s perspective I attended a really fascinating talk recently in St Saviour’s Priory in Dublin, part of the Symposium lecture series which takes place on the first Thursday of every month. A large, enthusiastic crowd was attracted by the title ‘Edith Stein’s Understanding of Human Flourishing’. Otherwise known as St Teresa Benedicta of the…
P. Fintan Lyons O.S.B. Lent is not likely to be anyone’s favourite season. There is enough to contend with in the weather of February and March, even if the days towards the end are brighter and there are signs of growth in an already resurgent nature. The most perceptible positive feature of the passing…
The Irish Poet and the Natural World: An Anthology of Verse in English from the Tudors to the Romantics edited by Andrew Carpenter and Lucy Collins (Cork University Press, €39.00/£19.95) The many readers who would be interested in the theme of the American derived anthology above should also look out as well for the…
First meeting between China and Vatican for 70 years A first meeting between The Holy See and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) since 1951 took place in Germany on February 14. Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Holy See’s Secretary for Relations with States, met with PRC State Councillor and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Wang Yi,…
For one West Cork priest, the Church is about people –although a little cement never goes astray, writes Róise McGagh Fr Jeremiah Donovan began his journey when he joined the Congregation of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate in 1959. His work took him from West Cork to Goiás in central Brazil. Here he…
The renowned spiritual writer Ruth Burrows begins her autobiography with these words: “I was born into this world with a tortured sensitivity. For long I have puzzled over the causes of my psychological anguish.” Unfortunately, to our loss, too many spiritual biographies don’t begin like this, that is, by recognising right at the start the…
An Irish Benedictine monk is showcasing his huge oil-on-canvas painting of Mary at an exhibition in Canada during the month of February. Emmaus O’Herlihy’s painting of Mary, called Red Magnificat, pictures her as both indigenous and almost young enough to be called a child. His painting is in Toronto’s Regis College as part of an exhibition called…
Roise McGagh reveals eleven tips on making your spring clean a breeze It might not really feel like spring at the moment, with the only hint being brighter evenings. However, that doesn’t mean it’s a bad time of year to clear out the cobwebs and declutter. You’ve made it through a gloomy January and most…
My wife and I were test-driving an electric car the other day, when my 10-year-old son announced from the back seat, “This might be the car I learn to drive in!” He was right, too. He turns 11 this autumn, and we could easily keep the car for another six years. In six years’ time,…
Maria Byrne
Peter Costello
Fr Ronald Rolheiser
Rory Fitzgerald