Dear Editor, What a blessing we have at a time with churches closed to have Mass celebrated daily on the web cam in many churches throughout the country and on RTÉ Now. We owe a debt of gratitude to all involved in this ministry. I write this email on Wednesday, May 6, following this morning’s…
Over the coming weeks some of our literary collaborators will give suggestions for ‘lock-down reading’, books of all kinds to amuse and raise our spirits. This week: Anthony Redmond on The Path to Rome (1902) by Hilaire Belloc. It must be 40 years since I first read The Path to Rome and I have…
Time and again we see from the pages of the Bible that a time of crisis is also a time of opportunity. Whether in the story of the Israelites or in the New Testament, God sets before his people a choice when it comes to every crisis: to adapt and grow, or to perish. Human…
Was news ever presented free of spin? Maybe it never was but I think the problem is worse now. These thoughts were prompted by the headlines Tuesday morning of last week. I woke up to Morning Ireland (RTÉ Radio 1) news headlines telling me that the Covid restrictions could last for years. It’s a wonder…
Had everything gone according to plan, Manchester’s Hallé Orchestra would be in the National Concert Hall next Tuesday (June 2) under Sir Mark Elder, its principal conductor since 2000. The concert promised an interesting Franco-Russian mix with Ravel surrounded by Rachmaninov and Stravinsky. I was looking forward to it, as the Hallé’s visits, despite the…
Female appointed as Swiss Catholic bishop’s delegate Swiss Bishop Charles Morerod of Lausanne, Geneva and Friburg has appointed a woman theologian to succeed the present episcopal vicar. Marianne Pohl-Henzen will succeed the present episcopal vicar for the German part of the diocese on August 1 Pohl-Henzen, 60, studied theology and philology, and for the past…
Mental health impact of virus can be severe The mental health impacts of Covid-19 may linger after the pandemic is over according to new research. It found some patients hospitalised due to the virus are likely to suffer from anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder months or years after they leave hospital. The risks may…
For the first time in 12 weeks, members of the faithful have gathered in St Peter’s Square at the Vatican to receive the Pope’s apostolic blessing. Officers of the Italian military police the Carabinieri worked with Vatican health officials to check pilgrims before admitting them to the square. As has been his tradition during the…
Saying America needs “more prayer, not less,” President Donald Trump has declared house of worship “essential” and directed the country’s governors “to do the right thing and allow these very important essential places of faith to open right now, this weekend.” “The people are demanding to go to church and their synagogue, to go to…
Relief as closed churches re-open for prayer Parishioners and priests across the North have reacted with a mixture of joy and relief after churches began re-opening this week as part of the relaxation of the coronavirus lockdown. Bishop of Derry Donal McKeown told The Irish Catholic that he is “delighted”. “It’s fine praying from…
Michael Kelly
Brendan O’Regan
Chai Brady