The game-winning kick in Sunday’s Super Bowl was made by devout Catholic Harrison Butker, who used the opportunity to praise God. Many on social media noticed that during the game he was wearing a brown scapular around his neck. The score stood at an even 35-35 with just seconds remaining in the game, when Mr…
While Pope Francis has returned to Rome after his six-day apostolic trip to Congo and South Sudan, the words he left there will resonate across the continent for a long time, Church leaders and experts say. Catholic bishops in Congo said the words of the Holy Father not only comforted, but shook up, the continent,…
Despite the singular name of this column, this week we’re focusing on two saints: February 14 the Church esteems Ss Cyril (originally Constantine) and Methodius, who were declared co-patron saints of Europe by St Pope John Paul II. These brothers were born in the Greek city of Thessalonica in the early ninth Century, but it’s…
August 15 this year will be the 25th anniversary of the day on which the Omagh bomb exploded killing 29 people and two unborn babies. It was the single biggest incident of the Troubles. It was planted by the Real IRA in the little market town of Omagh as people, including visitors from Ireland and…
The head of the Ukrainian Catholic church has defended President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s requests for long-range weapons, although a Vatican diplomat warned that arms supply is a complex topic. “I cannot morally endorse this request for arms because I don’t know all the details – but we cannot defend ourselves without arms,” said Major Archbishop Sviatoslav…
The Wisdom of Pope Francis Ash Wednesday, marks the beginning of the Lenten journey of 40 days, which will lead us to the Easter Triduum, the memorial of the Lord’s passion, death and resurrection and the heart of the mystery of our salvation. Lent prepares us for this most important moment; therefore, it is a…
An Irish missionary in Aleppo, Syria, has said the region is facing the “next level of hell” after the recent earthquake destroyed houses and left thousands dead. Syria was already in a “hellish” way before the 7.8 magnitude earthquake rocked the Northwest of the country and south Türkiye on February 6, Irish Jesuit Fr Tony…
Using gendered language for God goes back to Jesus himself, writes David Quinn It was inevitable that one day a concerted effort would be made to introduce gender-neutral language to describe God. It has already been the case in more radical religious circles that the names given to the Three Persons of the Holy Trinity,…
A near age-old accusation levelled at the Catholic Church is that it encourages and actively worships Jesus’s mother, Mary. The same accusation is applied when it comes to saints – Catholics are accused of being polytheistic, essentially: of worshipping saints as gods, rather than God alone. The short answer to this is no, Catholics do…
In the summer of 1971, no question before the US Supreme Court was as contentious as the Pentagon Papers case, in which the Nixon administration sought to prevent The New York Times and The Washington Post from publishing a classified report on the Vietnam War. In a 6-3 decision, the court eventually upheld the right…
Nuala O’Loan
Ruadhán Jones
David Quinn
John L. Allen Jr.