Musicians from churches all over Ireland will come together in a song for frontline staff on Pentecost Sunday May 31. The blessing will be a rendition of the specially adapted hymn Be Thou my Vision. Submissions from different churches north and south of the border will be dedicated to local causes and also part of…
A Kerry priest who is celebrating car park Masses for people struggling or unable to watch online Mass has said “we can’t let fear dominate us”. Fr Kevin McNamara PP of Moyvane, who started celebrating outdoor Masses with his congregation, who stay in their cars throughout, said there has been a “great response”. “They’re seeing…
Surrogacy is a complicated issue – the demand for surrogacy services certainly indicates that while there have been so many well-financed pressures to get rid of babies, there is also a strong global demand to acquire babies. Surrogacy is big business. A recent drama on BBC TV, The Nest, broadcast in April, portrayed a wealthy…
Spring Legacy Supplement Making a difference with a lasting gift Increasing numbers of people are using their will to leave a legacy that will live long after them writes Aron Hegarty The current coronavirus crisis has focused attention on the important rituals that surround death and dying in Ireland. As a people, we…
Lorna Siggins The Government has been called on to clarify whether church weddings and baptism ceremonies can proceed with small numbers under phase one of Covid-19 restrictions. Fr John Carroll, Ferns diocesan secretary and communications officer in Co Wexford, said there appeared to be disconnect between Government regulations and their interpretation by the Garda. A…
Archbishop Eamon Martin has appealed to Catholic schools in the North to set aside the traditional transfer tests which decide based on academic selection which secondary school a child attends. In a letter sent this week to 165 schools across the dioceses of Armagh and Dromore, Archbishop Eamon insisted that children are under enough pressure…
The View Memories of people and travel, repeat performances and modern systems of communication with family, friends and colleagues all help to maintain sanity. While the airwaves are dominated by just one subject, we all need occupations that can absorb our attention and lift our mind onto other things. The museum of the Vienna…
Journeys of Faith: Stories of Pilgrimage from Medieval Ireland by Louise Nugent (Columba Books, €26.99) This book is an epitome of a thousand years of Irish history, roughly 500 AD to 1500 AD. It is a reminder, if one is really needed, of just how important the context of history is to understanding present attitudes…
The Mater Dei Centre for Catholic Education (MDCCE) aims to assess how the coronavirus pandemic has affected churchgoers with a new survey published last week. Dr Gareth Byrne, Director of the MDCCE, said: “It is important to document the response of churchgoers to the Covid-19 crisis and its impact on their faith lives and connection…
Isolation could lead to risky behaviour, writes Chai Brady Social distancing and staying at home have become the new norm and even as restrictions are eased there are still a lot people doing this to protect each other during the pandemic. However, there are concerns this could be leading to dangerous behaviours due to…
Chai Brady
Mary Kenny
Peter Costello