The Sunday Gospel On the first Sunday of Lent each year, the Gospel is about the temptations of Jesus before he commences his public ministry. “Jesus was led by the Spirit out into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil” (Matt 4:1). We will reflect initially on the nature of temptation, then on the…
British author Paul Kingsnorth has found a home and outlet in both Ireland and the Eastern Orthodox Church for his eco-concern, writes Jason Osborne The wilds of the west of Ireland have become home to English writer, Paul Kingsnorth, in a move that sees him better embody that prophetic voice “crying out in the wilderness”.…
At least two big occasions demand our attention this week – Lent and the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Songs of Praise (BBC One, Sunday) covered both of these really well. The programme came from the Lincoln area, with presenter Sean Fletcher, who described Lent as a time when people challenge themselves,…
Editor’s Comment The Traditional Latin Mass is celebrated in about a half-a-dozen churches in Ireland. Where it is celebrated, it is well-attended and has attracted some considerable interest from devotees who say that the find that form of the Mass – celebrated widely before the reforms of the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s –…
On the surface it looks as if Zoe (Lily James) is commitment-phobic. She isn’t really. It’s just that Cupid hasn’t fired his arrows yet. When her mother Cath (Emma Thompson) tries to fix her up with a local vet, the nice but dull James (Oliver Chris) we know it just ain’t gonna work. She has…
Dear Editor, Dublin City Centre is in a sorry state of affairs. Reading your front page [The Irish Catholic – February 9, 2023] brought home the challenges facing our inner city churches. Anyone who has been out in Dublin, particularly in the evening, can see first hand the homelessness and drugs epidemic that is causing…
The future of religious life in Ireland is at a “turning point” as the number of women religious on the island of Ireland has halved in the last 20 years. There were 9,031 women religious on the island of Ireland at the turn of the millennium, but in the last 20 years that has declined…
Former Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman Baroness Nuala O’Loan has called for an inquiry into the Omagh Bombing in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Ms O’Loan said that there can be “absolutely no doubt” that a full public inquiry in Ireland “is a necessary complement to the UK inquiry” announced two weeks ago.…
Accord has released its latest attendance figures for couples undertaking Sacramental marriage preparation courses throughout Ireland. The 2022 figure of 4,610 couples hosted through 297 marriage preparation programmes is equal to 2019’s pre-pandemic figure of 4610 couples hosted at 285 programmes. Speaking at St Valentine’s shrine in the Carmelite church on Whitefriar Street Monday, Director of…
Lined up to narrate the Concerts in Aid of the Capuchin Day Centre for the Homeless, former RTÉ presenter Aonghus McAnally has described Brother Kevin Crowley as a “living saint” and the work of the Capuchin Day Centre as more vital than ever. Speaking to The Irish Catholic newspaper about the event and its cause,…
Brendan O’Regan
Michael Kelly
Aubrey Malone
Ruadhán Jones