The World of Books By the books editor This year France is marking, in various ways and styles, the bicentenary of the death of Napoléon Bonaparte. In the cause of heritage preservation the emperor has joined the Bourbons as part of the great panoply of French culture. The current head of the family, international investment banker Jean-Christophe,…
Everyday Philosophy How open-minded should a Christian be? On the one hand, open-mindedness is generally a good thing. Being open to the possibility of learning new things, and to the possibility that one is mistaken, is a mark of a healthy mind. It’s also a sign of humility. Openness to being wrong is an acknowledgement…
Catholic leaders from Eastern Europe pledged closer cooperation against sexual abuse by clergy, despite different levels of preparedness, at the region’s first international child protection conference. A statement from the September 19-22 conference said lectures and group sessions had covered “spiritual, theological, legal and pastoral aspects of the crisis”, adding that key themes would be…
Letter from Rome US President Joe Biden went before the United Nations September 21 and declared, “We are not seeking a new Cold War, or a world divided into rigid blocs.” The statement became necessary in the wake a week earlier of the new “AUKUS” pact among the US, the UK and Australia, seen precisely…
The Catholic Women’s Conference held in Cork September 18 was run “by women, for women”, one of the organisers said. Anita Sheahan, outreach minister for the Dominican’s in St Mary’s Church, Cork City, said that more than 100 women attended the conference in person. “It was a great success, the speakers were all fantastic,” Ms…
The Messenger Advent Booklet 2021: reflections on the Weekday Reading by Donal Neary SJ (Messenger Publications, €4.95/£4.50) The author opens his little seasonal booklet with the observation that “Advent is the annual season of waiting”. This year, however, the notion of waiting has taken on an even heavier weight of expectation: will the pandemic die away,…
Gerard Gallagher Without a doubt, restrictions and measures employed during the Covid-19 pandemic have had a lasting impact on our parishes and our families. For 18 months we were unable to physically gather in our parishes. It was the same with families, many were unable to meet during this period. Clearly the Church missed the…
Every year when I come back from holidays after a time of refreshment and family time, we often return with really bad post-holiday blues. How can I avoid them this year? This is totally normal and natural. You work hard all year, you save, you spend hours daydreaming about your two week holiday. Yet…
Barb Fraze As part of the listening and dialogue phase of the Australian Catholic Church’s Plenary Council, 220,000 Australians answered the question, “What do you think God is asking of us in Australia at this time?” In 2015, Australian Archbishop Mark Coleridge was asking himself something similar. Australia was in the midst of a government-mandated…
Personal Profile Fr Sean Coyle and Fr Donal O’Hanlon are retired Columban missionaries who are now based in Dalgan Park, Co. Meath. Both spent the vast majority of their ministry in the Philippines, where they encountered both tragedy and fulfilment in the turbulent state. The two priests were involved in the Legion of Mary before…
Peter Costello
Ben Conroy
John L. Allen Jr.
Ruadhán Jones
Wendy Grace