The World of Books by the Books Editor Any one of my generation who was taught from an early age by the good nuns will have somewhere tucked away in the back attic of their memories Hilaire Belloc’s poem Courtesy. Those ineffable lines: Of Courtesy it is much less Than Courage of Heart or Holiness.…
Sweet Treats Macarons have a reputation for being tricky but don’t fear! If you follow the recipe carefully these red velvet flavoured versions will make an impressive gift this Valentine’s day. A top tip is throughout the recipe, make sure that all the ingredients are at room temperature. Ingredients Makes about 12 filled macarons For…
Notebook Once upon a time in the Diocese of Cork, before retirement became a ‘thing’ for Church leaders, a parish priest went to his heavenly reward, aged well over 90. The bishop prevailed upon another parish priest to take over as pastor, even though this man was in his mid-seventies. And the people of the parish…
‘Time is running out’ to save sharks and rays The BBC reported that sharks and rays are disappearing from the world’s oceans at an “alarming rate”. A new study suggests that the number of sharks found in open ocean has dropped by up to 71% over 50 years, with three quarters of the species studied…
When I criticise media bias I often find myself tempted to distance myself from some person or cause lest people miss my point and assume I’m supporting them, whereas I’m just looking for more objectivity. Last Friday I listened to yet another soft and palsy interview with Alastair Campbell, former press secretary to Tony Blair,…
Cathedral soup kitchen feeds Seoul’s homeless The Seoul archdiocese is helping homeless people with a soup kitchen run out of Myongdong Cathedral. The energy and chemicals division of SK Group, the third-largest conglomerate in South Korea, is sponsoring the programme by supporting 1,400 packed lunches each week. Lunches are served to homeless people every Wednesday,…
Living Words: A booklet for renewal of the Holy Spirit by Michael Hurley (Messenger Publications, €4.95) This booklet is the accompaniment as a sort of ‘workbook’ to Michael Hurley’s Inspiring Faith Communities. A programme of Evangelisation (Messenger Publications, €12.95/£11.95) This, in essence, is a prayer book for daily use. It consists of a collection of scripture passages…
A good friend of mine, opera buff extraordinaire Paddy Brennan, recently sent me an email with an attachment – www.operainireland.wordpress.com/. It came with a ‘work in progress’ warning but, even so, the file contains a vast amount of information relating to opera in Dublin from 1928 to virtually the present day. The content is absolutely…
Just how toxic discussions about the Church and priests and religious have become in Ireland was evidenced a few years ago when novelist Marian Keyes suggested people throw stones if they see a priest. “No matter how ‘nice’ a priest is, no matter how many raffles he runs, he is still a foot soldier for…
Dear Editor, I am writing to respond to Jason Osborne’s article, Church leadership has to change to be seen [IC 14/01/2021]. He did provide helpful suggestions from people who have studied this crisis of faith we are facing e.g., Prof. Tom Inglis and Fr Eugene Duffy. Fr Duffy was right to emphasise the importance of…
Peter Costello
Brendan O’Regan
Michael Kelly