Readers familiar with the Irish actor and comedian Jimmy O’Dea might recall his monologue: “Thank heavens, we are living in Rathgar.” When I was a diplomat in Portugal some years ago, I used to say to myself, “Thank heavens that I live in Estoril”. It’s a very beautiful place about 25km from Lisbon. Driving home…
Wiesbaden (KNA) The number of abortions in Germany remains at a high level. Around 28,200 abortions were reported in the first quarter of 2024. This was just under 2.3% more than in the first quarter of 2023 (27,600) and 11.4% more than in the fourth quarter of 2023 (25,300), according to the Federal Statistical Office…
Episode 22: Is a smartphone free childhood possible? The overwhelming evidence on the impact of digital devices on children’s mental health and development continues to mount. But is it possible to get the genie back in the bottle? In this episode of The Confession Box, Wendy Grace talks to one of the founders of a…
With Pope Francis meeting Comedian’s from around the world tomorrow, we thought it was a good time, to dust off the old joke books, tickle the funny bones and present our list of ten of the greatest Catholic jokes of all time. Jesus asked God, “Where have you been these past 4 years?” God replied,…
Ardal O’Hanlon, Tommy Tiernan, and Patrick Kielty are part of an international delegation of comedians who will meet Pope Francis on Friday. But will they be eating their words in the Vatican? Have you heard the one about the three Irish comedians who walked into the Vatican? As part of the Holy See’s efforts to…
Prominent religious campaigners have welcomed the result of the local elections which saw a record number of immigrant candidates gaining seats compared to a small number of anti-immigration campaigners. Founder of the Immigrant Council of Ireland Sr Stan Kennedy told The Irish Catholic the charity has been helping immigrants take part in the election as…
We often hear rallying calls to get more women into politics – and I’m all for supporting such encouragement. Indeed, plenty of impressive women emerged in last week’s local elections. In the context of the EU, it’s now predicted that three women are seen as the ‘queens of Europe’ – and likely to dominate the…
The general manager of Catholic youth group Pure in Heart, Helen Vysotska, has issued a warning regarding the negative consequences of the Free Contraception Scheme. She said the consequences of hormonal contraception “are very bad. A lot of women who take hormonal contraception have higher risk of breast cancer, ovarian cancer”. It was announced an expansion…
Pope Francis addressed engaged couples on St Valentine’s Day ten years ago. He gave his now-famous advice regarding the need to say, please, thank you and I’m sorry. He went on to say, “We all know that there is no such thing as a perfect family, nor even the perfect husband or the perfect wife. We…
Recently, well-known and outspoken atheist Richard Dawkins publicly declared himself to be a ‘cultural Christian’, as he defined England as ‘culturally Christian country.’ This perhaps unexpected admission from the hardened atheist who famously wrote The God Delusion was made during an interview regarding the city of London’s decision to celebrate the Muslim feast of Ramadan…
Ian Dunn
Mary Kenny
Renata Steffens
Breda O'Brien