Study suggests vaccine protection wanes after 6 months The protection provided by two doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech and the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccines starts to wane within six months, new research suggests. A reasonable worst-case scenario could see protection fall to below 50% for the elderly and healthcare workers by winter, an expert has said. The…
Dear Editor, The events in Afghanistan are tragic to say the least, the future of the population, especially women and girls is shrouded in doubt. Their future under the Taliban, whether that be access to education, the workforce and other basic freedoms is under threat. It is not only women, but all those seen to…
With so much grim stuff in the media you’d need a few uplifting programmes every week to keep the spirits high. This past week the best of these for me was Nationwide (RTÉ One, Wednesday) a repeat of a special documentary presented by Colm Flynn on the work of Sr Ethel Normoyle from Lissycasey, Co.…
Looking at a BBC Prom, devoted to Stravinsky, on TV recently reminded me that this year commemorates the 50th anniversary of the composer’s death in New York in 1971. Igor Stravinsky was born into a musical family in Oranienbaum near St Petersburg in 1882. While his parents hoped he would become a lawyer Igor persuaded…
Christianity basically invented the idea of what we now call separation of Church and State. Taking up Christ’s words “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s”, the idea of an appropriate separation emerged as healthy for both Church and State. A mature understanding of the separation…
The Sunday Gospel Last Saturday I had the great privilege of baptising my beautiful grandniece, Juliet. Actually, I prefer to refer to the sacrament as a Christening. Baptism means having a bath, being washed and cleansed. Christening, or Christ-ening, expresses the new life received, a living relationship with Jesus Christ, the Risen Lord. After naming…
Notebook Irish people of all stripes are aware, at least vaguely, of the achievements of the learned monks of early Christian Ireland. Comparatively few details of the monastery schools and scholars on the island of Ireland at this period are known, however, and we know a good deal more about the Irish intellectuals who rose…
Redemption is the work of God, not of human beings, so be careful and do not listen to “fundamentalists” who claim holiness comes through following certain laws, Pope Francis said during his weekly general audience
Brendan O’Regan
Michael Kelly
Ruadhán Jones