I’ve been sampling a few TV dramas of late, and while some deal with religious themes it’s usually peripheral, as if the programme makers are either unwilling or incapable of more depth when it comes to religious faith. The Split (BBC1, Tuesdays) captures relationship conflict and family dysfunction in a credible way. The first few…
“In a time where people are very busy in a world where there is persistent noise and commentary from social media, I think it’s very important for people to have the space to get away, be centred and in touch with their own self.” These words from Sr Peggy Collins of Glendalough Hermitage Centre not…
Christopher White Speaking to young people on the beaches of Rio de Janeiro at the 2013 World Youth Day, Pope Francis encouraged those present to go home and shake things up. Perhaps one result of that was in the US where an experiment took place last month in an attempt to bridge the divide between…
The Kylemore Trust switched on the lights of Kylemore Abbey to celebrate 100 years of the Benedictine Order of nuns in Co Galway this week. The illumination of the Abby is part of a year-long programme of events to mark the residency of the nuns in Connemara since 1920. “Over this year we will remember…
Thomas J. Morrissey Navigating the Zeitgeist: A Story of the Cold War, the New Left, Irish Republicanism, and International Communism by Helena Sheehan (Monthly Review Press, $US20.00/£18.99) Dr Helena Sheehan is a well-known left-wing intellectual. Her book, Marxism and the Philosophy of Science: Critical History, published in 1985, became a classic work on its subject. She…
A Catholic delegation has hit out at being stopped at an airport in Eritrea and forced to return to Ethiopia. “We condemn the gesture” said the Catholic Secretariat of Ethiopia on February 28, who claimed they were “illegally detained without reason”. “We also express our solidarity with the Catholic Church in Eritrea, which lives in…
News this week that the Vatican is opening the archives for World War II (1939-45) to historians will bring fresh focus on the Pope Pius XII. Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli – who had been Papal Nuncio in Bavaria and then Secretary of State to Pius XI – was elected Successor of St Peter in 1939 on…
Something different for St Patrick Parades can be great for some, but standing for long periods of time with young kids is never ideal – especially in big crowds. If you’re looking for something different to do with the family this St Patricks Day there are plenty of events to choose from around the country.…
Fr Eugene O’Neill Few things are calculated to raise the hackles of hardworking priests in parishes more than being told how it should be done by fellow clerics with fewer years in the Lord’s Vineyard under their belt. I once turned to an older colleague – a man of depth, wisdom and vast experience –…
Kicking off the festivities, choirs from all over the island and further afield will join together in an evening of music and spoken word on Saturday, March 7 at 8pm in St Patrick’s Cathedral to celebrate St Patrick. A limited number of audience seats priced at £5 are available through The Market Place Theatre Box…
Brendan O’Regan
Michael Kelly