Almost half the parishes in Killaloe diocese are ministered to by a priest over the retirement age of 75. Some 27 of the 58 parishes in the diocese have no resident priest under 75, Bishop Fintan Monahan said as he announced the diocesan appointments. Meetings were held across Killaloe diocese earlier this year, with radical…
The significance of the date, for those not perhaps as steeped in national lore as others, is that it marks the birth of Arthur Griffith in 1871. He died, as many more will remember, on August 12, 1922, of sudden heart failure; to be closely followed 10 days later by the death in action of…
The Sunday Gospel 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time Ex 19:2-6a Ps 100:1-2, 3, 5 Rom 5:6-11 Mt 9:36-10:8 The Roman catacombs are unique, unlike any other place, where the faith, courage and love of the early Christians is evoked powerfully. In these ancient networks of tunnels and chambers deep beneath the eternal city of Rome one encounters…
It’s widely held today that faith, or spirituality as it’s more commonly put these days, is a private matter. Rightly perceived as an important element of the inner lives of individuals, our culture’s view of the topic is this: faith or spirituality is an expression of the individual’s relationship with God, the universe or some…
Here before us are the relics of St Therese of the Child Jesus, universal patroness of missions. It is good that this happen while we are reflecting on the passion for evangelisation, on apostolic zeal. Today, then, let us allow the witness of St Therese to help us. She was born 150 years ago, and…
What do the archbishop of Suva in Fiji and the cardinal in Tonga have in common? The same thing as many Fijian and Tongan clergy – they are all former students of Irish Columban Fr Donal McIlraith. Fr Donal has been ministering in Fiji for the past 35 years, all of them spent teaching at…
Pope Francis making normal progress in recovery from abdominal surgery Pope Francis is “steadily improving” two days after he underwent abdominal surgery to correct an incisional hernia, a Vatican spokesman said Friday. According to Matteo Bruni, the Pope rested during the night and on the morning of June 9 was able to eat breakfast and…
Since Pentecost, I have been thinking about the gifts of the Holy Spirit. In the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the last of the gifts named is that of ‘Awe and Wonder’ also known as ‘Fear of the Lord’ (para. 1831). Here I share a few thoughts on how the Spirit can give birth to ‘Awe…
Staff and patients are upset at the removal of all Catholic imagery from St Vincent’s University Hospital, after the hospital’s controversial transfer from the Religious Sisters of Charity (RSC). All crucifixes and holy images – including of the hospital’s founder Mother Mary Aikenhead – were removed from public display this year in the hospital, while…
A Dublin-based priest has commended the Church’s work with asylum seekers while condemning the attempted conflation of the Church with the anti-immigration proponents by Social Democrats Dublin Central TD Gary Gannon. Taking to Twitter on Monday, Mr Gannon shared an Irish Times article titled, ‘Why are Ireland’s Church leaders so silent on immigration?’ while commenting…
Ruadhán Jones
Peter Costello