A friend of mine, somewhat cynical about the Church, recently remarked: “What the institutional Church today is trying to do is to put its best face on the fact that it’s dying. Basically, it’s trying to manage a death.” What he’s suggesting is that the Church today, like a person struggling to accept a terminal…
Dear Editor, While I agree with David Quinn that we must try to avoid any potential schism over recommended changes to Church teaching and practices as a result of our Synodal pathway journey [The Irish Catholic – April 21, 2022], this must not be at a cost of a veto on any significant change. Those…
Pope praises Papal Foundation’s generosity Pope Francis praised members of the US-based Papal Foundation for helping the Catholic Church build “a culture of solidarity and peace,” including by providing assistance to victims of the war in Ukraine. “As we are witnessing in these days the devastating effects of war and conflict, you increasingly see the…
Irish charities receive €2m for Ukraine aid Irish Aid has granted €500,000 each to four Irish charities – Trócaire, Goal, Concern and Plan International – to support their humanitarian response to the Ukraine crisis. Announcing the grant, Minister for Overseas Development Aid and the Diaspora Colm Brophy said that the grant enables charities to assist…
Notebook When I was about seven years old, my county, and indeed the whole country, was shocked by the murder of Bernadette Connolly, a young girl from Collooney. It was as if the world had stopped spinning and her name was on everyone’s lips. Later, I came to know her father and some of her…
Journey Into Light: The Challenge and Enchantment of Catholic Christianity, by Roderick Strange (Hodder and Stoughton, €20.99/£16.99) In Journey Into Light, Msgr Roderick Strange sets himself quite a task – to convey The Challenge and Enchantment of Catholic Christianity, as the subtitle says, in little more than 200 pages. Measured against this ambition, the book…
If a leaked document from the US Supreme Court this week can be taken at face value, the landmark 1973 ruling that made abortion legal in all 50 states will soon be overturned. A draft document obtained by the news website Politico suggests the top US court is in favour of overturning Roe v Wade.…
I always get a pleasant sense of expectation when I hear of a new channel coming to the television or radio landscape. Last week saw the start of yet another TV News channel in the UK – Talk TV, (with much the same schedule as the existing Talk Radio), available on the usual platforms and…
This week’s NSO event at the National Concert Hall (tomorrow May 6) brings young Portuguese conductor – Joana Carneiro – to its rostrum for the first time. Her programme includes Mahler’s Songs of a Wayfarer with mezzo Tara Erraught and Stravinsky’s 1947 revised version of his ballet Petrushka. However, before these familiar and popular pieces…
The Sunday Gospel The Fourth Sunday of Easter is called Vocations Sunday, and each year the Gospel is about Christ the Good Shepherd and the flock of his followers. Today’s reading is short enough to quote it in full. “Jesus said: ‘The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice; I know them and they follow…
Fr Ronald Rolheiser
Ruadhán Jones
Michael Kelly
Brendan O’Regan