Archbishop Eamon Martin has criticised a lack of ambition in the Government’s Housing for All plan in a written response to Minister Darragh O’Brien’s request that the Church identify property it owns to use in tackling the housing crisis. While welcoming the plan, Archbishop Martin wrote that “sadly”, Ireland’s current national crisis in housing has…
Month: November 2021
Partition was never envisaged as a final settlement
The View Pope Francis, meditating recently on the problematic history of Latin America including his own country of Argentina in its evolution over the past 500 years, and especially the treatment of native peoples, ran into criticism from Spanish conservatives. They hold that Spain gave Latin America (except Brazil) its language and Catholic religion, and…
Only quarter of new PSNI recruits Catholic
Only 24% of new recruits to the PSNI (Police Service Northern Ireland) have come from a Catholic background according to the latest statistics. Catholic officers The figures demonstrate ongoing problems hiring Catholic officers. Of the 193 officers recruited in 2020, only 46 were Catholic while 144 (75%) were protestant. The PSNI has stated a commitment…
Young Catholics: let others know the joy of faith
A Parent’s Perspective A young woman I was talking to thought it would be difficult to ask her four friends, who are atheists, to accompany her into the church to light a candle. She’s Catholic, while they don’t believe in God; the presumption might be that such an invitation would be rejected. It’s a pretty…
Pope describes US President Biden as ‘a good Catholic’
The Pope received US President Joe Biden and according to the US President, the Pontiff referred to him as “a good Catholic”. Biden was in Rome for the G20 Heads of State and Government Summit. He met with Pope Francis for 75 minutes on Friday, during which they did not reference abortion, a topic that…
Memento mori this November
The Catholic Church has always embraced meditation on death, and November is the month most associated with that, writes Jason Osborne The leaves continue to fall from the trees as nature uses the rest of autumn to prepare for winter, a fitting natural symbol of death, which is at the forefront of Catholic minds in the…
Natural revelation, from many angles, speaks to all humanity
Every Bush Aflame: Science, God, and the Natural World by John Feehan (Veritas, €16.99/£14.61) Dr Christopher Moriarty The first creation story in the Bible – the ‘six day’ account – is remarkable in being, in its essentials, a scientific document. Its writer observed nature and made deductions from his observations. Above all, he postulated the need…
Authorities kidnap Catholic bishop in China
Chinese authorities have kidnapped Catholic Bishop Shao Zhumin of Wenzhou, according to reports emerging from China. The Vatican confirmed Bishop Shao to lead the diocese in September 2016, following the death of his predecessor, Bishop Vincent Zhu Weifang, who was imprisoned for 16 years. The 58-year-old prelate was taken by authorities “on vacation,” adding that…
Supporting healthy hearts and healthy bodies
Legacy Supplement 2021 – A Future Full of Hope Legacy donations can help charities like the Irish Heart Foundation and Special Olympics Ireland after a devastating pandemic, and long into the future, writes Chai Brady The vulnerable in Irish society can be forgotten during times of crisis, which has devastating effects, not least for those…
Modern writers wandering far from the Celtic Twilight?
The Celtic Myths that Shape the Way We Think by Mark Williams (Thames & Hudson, £20.00/$23.99) This book ought to have a wide readership for it explores an area of modern literature that has, since the mid-Victorian era, exerted great influence over writers, artists and filmmakers in these islands. Mark Williams was born in London and…