What has been given you to carry? Where do the needs and pains of others conscript your freedom? When is freedom mitigated by circumstance? What are the situations that you are born into or meet in life to which you must respond, perhaps even at the cost of your life? What may you not walk…
We don’t like to talk too much about death. It’s the ultimate elephant in the room – inevitable and ignored for as long as possible, while we use euphemism to whistle past the graveyard. On The Moral Maze (BBC Radio 4, Wednesday), many of the issues surrounding death were literally interrogated as the panel quizzed…
Dean Keating These recent elections were not the parting of the fog that many had hoped for or the endorsement of Government that the Taoiseach has claimed. At best, we can see a stagnation for all three major parties and a diversification of the Irish political spectrum, caused by a rejection of the Government’s more…
Theo McDonald Ireland’s hate speech bill has garnered international attention from critics who argue it will impede on free expression and debate. Home to a multitude of big tech headquarters such as Meta and Twitter or X, Irish domestic legislation will have major international repercussions for public participation on the internet and for society as…
Catholic Church representatives have welcomed a ruling by Europe’s top human rights court that countries have no obligation to allow physician-assisted suicide. However, they also voiced concern at suggestions that it could be recognised as a human right in the future. “This judgment largely concerns procedural questions – but it’s a very good result,” said…
Women could be named Ministers Dear Editor, Dr Cerrato tells us women may not be ordained deacon for “fundamentally theological” reasons [The Irish Catholic – June 6, 2024]. Also, while there were “Deaconesses” in the past, he points out they were not “equivalent” to male deacons. He may well be right, but that need not…
The head of the Vatican’s communications department is defending his office’s use of an accused sexual abuser’s art on its website. The Prefect of the Dicastery for Communication of the Holy See, Italian layman Paolo Ruffini, offered his defence last Friday, in response to questions from journalists attending his keynote address at the annual Catholic…
It is of the essence of the Catholic Church to be Catholic. At first glance, this statement seems rather peculiar or even so self-explanatory to be tautologous. What else would the Catholic Church be except Catholic? The community formed by the followers of Jesus was first called Catholic in 110AD by St Ignatius of Antioch.…
The Catholic Media Conference in Atlanta has just released details of three films which may be of interest to readers. The first, Jesus Thirsts: The Miracle of the Eucharist, embarks, as the CMC puts it, “on a global journey to rediscover and revive the transformative power of the Eucharist.” Produced by Jim Wahlberg and directed…
The Yeats Sisters and Irish Design: Making, Identities & Legacies An exhibition in the Long Room of the Old Library, Trinity College, Dublin Currently mounted in the Long Room of the Library at Trinity College is an exhibition on the life and work of the Yeats Sisters, which draws on the immense collection of…
Fr Ronald Rolheiser
Brendan O’Regan
Aubrey Malone
Peter Costello