Letter from Rome Among the many traditions surrounding a presidential inauguration, Catholics seem to have created one of their own, especially when it’s a Democrat: Mixed messages from the Vatican and the US Conference of Catholic Bishops. Twelve years ago, when Barack Obama was elected, Pope Benedict XVI dispatched a note of congratulations on November…
The Irish Polish Society Yearbook ed. Jaroslaw Plachecki , vol. VII 2020 (see contact details below for ordering a copy) Over the last couple of decades the Polish community has established a strong presence in Ireland – both commercially and socially. The many areas of life and history the two nations have in common are…
NFL quarterback Philip Rivers is set to begin the next stage of his career as the head football coach at St Michael Catholic High School in Fairhope, Alabama. The former Indianapolis Colts star announced his retirement on January 20, the feast day of St Sebastian, the patron saint of athletes. “Every year, January 20 is…
Writing letters, stories or poetry are widely unpractised skills with transformative potential writes Jason Osborne Last week I wrote about chess as a fun and potentially endless way to while away lockdown during these dark and dreary days. For those that didn’t appeal to, there’s another activity to consider as a coping mechanism during these…
A Parent’s Perspective I was speaking to a young Catholic father recently about the difficulties and challenges he faces in trying to pass on the Faith to his four young children. He was feeling a bit overwhelmed and ill-equipped for the job, wondering how he could be more proactive and involved. He’s feeling the increasing pressure…
Philosophy primarily seeks to uncover what it is to be, a truth presupposed by our other theoretical disciplines but never established by them, writes Dr Gaven Kerr Go to the philosophy section in any high street bookshop and you will usually find it sandwiched between the new age section and the self-help section. Philosophy today…
Paddy Cole: King of the Swingers by Paddy Cole with Tom Gilmore. Foreword by John McColgan (O’Brien Press, €19.99/ebook €9.99) It is amazing how ‘the little bit of religion’ creeps into strange places sometimes. These are the music-making memories of a leading figure in the music scene since the 1950s. Paddy Cole is a great tale…
At least four people have now died after an explosion destroyed a parish building in the Spanish capital, Madrid, with a gas leak cited as a possible cause. The victims included a recently ordained Catholic priest who died in hospital early Thursday morning. Fr Rubén Pérez Ayala was ordained to the priesthood last June. His…
John Lavenburg Hope Border Institute executive director Dylan Corbett sees first-hand the hardship thousands of people face in Ciudad Juárez – the Mexican city opposite the border to El Paso, Texas – while they wait in limbo to pursue their asylum cases and hopefully enter the United States. Resources “It does not have the infrastructure…
Personal Profile For those outside the Faith, the idea that confession may draw you into Catholicism will seem counter intuitive – let alone that it can be joyful or freeing. But that’s just what it was for Anita Sheahan, who now does faith outreach for St Mary’s Dominicans in Cork. Though she grew up in…
John L. Allen Jr.
Maria Byrne
Peter Costello
Ruadhán Jones