The Church of England has banned church weddings for same-sex couples while at the same time allowing priests to bless same-sex marriages and partnerships. The General Synod of the Church of England decided on February 9 that same-sex couples would be allowed to come to church after a civil marriage or civil partnership to give…
Month: February 2023
Irish women religious ‘invisible in historical studies’
Women religious have often been treated as irrelevant by Irish historians, Dr Bronagh Ann McShane tells Ruadhán Jones Ever since St Brigid founded her monastery in Kildare, women religious have been driving forces in the Church and in society. Through their work in founding hospitals, schools, hospices and through their life of prayer in enclosed…
The unlikely history of Dublin’s cathedrals
In a recent issue some remarks made by the authors of a book on the future of the concept of the parish suggest some confusion about the strange history of Dublin’s cathedrals. I know that many foreign visitors are certainly confused as to why the city has “three cathedrals”. Of course the older cathedrals, St…
Heading on the pilgrim’s progress
Pilgrims on The Irish Catholic’s Christian solidarity pilgrimage to the Holy Land gathered early in Dublin Airport before taking to the air. Men and women from across the island of Ireland are undertaking the spiritual journey through Christ’s home on earth. Bishop of Derry Donal McKeown is the spiritual director of the pilgrimage, which is…
Recognising faith and service
The 16th annual Pope John Paul II Award ceremony was held in St Eugene’s Cathedral, Derry on February 6. The guest speaker, Melany Francisco-Lawless alongside Bishop Donal McKeown, patron of the award, presented the award to 328 young people from all over the Diocese of Derry and beyond. This year three people received the Papal…
Recovering the curious life and the European legend of ‘the white Martyr of Munster’
Searching for Thaddeus: Images of a Forgotten Irishman in Ireland and Italy, by Patricia Curtin-Kelly (Liberties Press, €20/£18) This is an interesting and unusual book, which will perhaps lead readers into new places to explore, not only in the remoter parishes of western Munster, but also in northern Italy. It focuses on the city of Ivrea, a place…
Ministering to the masses on and off-line
Sr Miriam James Heidland SOLT tells Jason Osborne about her love of sports and reluctant online ministry Well-known in Ireland for her internet appearances and for her books Loved as I Am, Behold, and Restore, US-based Sr Miriam James Heidland of the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity tells me with a laugh that…
In Brief
Priest charged for praying in UK ‘buffer zone’ A Catholic priest who faced criminal charges for praying for free speech outside an abortion clinic after business hours is the latest to run afoul of a strict buffer zone law in the English city of Birmingham. “I pray wherever I go, inside my head, for the…
Names and faces: drawing attention to victims of violence
Cindy Wooden Pope Francis’ visit to Congo and his ecumenical pilgrimage to South Sudan put a face – actually, thousands of faces – on the horror of war. But he also seemed energised by the enthusiasm of the crowds in Kinshasa, Congo, and buoyed by traveling to Juba, South Sudan with Anglican Archbishop Justin Welby…
A lesson about living from ‘the Misfit’
More than a half century ago, Flannery O’Connor wrote a short story, A Good Man is Hard to Find. One of the main characters in the story is an elderly woman who is a difficult, stubborn, and not a particularly happy person. Traveling to Florida with her family, she is constantly whining and complaining. Then,…