The recent visit of St Bernadette’s relics to Dublin drew around 2000 children and their teachers to Our Lady of Victories parish, an experience Fr Frank Reburn described as deeply humbling. He noted that schools had been contacting the parish office to request visits to the sacred relics. “We were getting phone calls from schools…
The Green Party’s proposal of a one-off child benefit payment of €560 for parents in the first month their child is born has met a surprising amount of opposition. Their coalition partners object because it breaches the terms of the Summer Economic Statement, which sets out spending limits for the budget. Others feel that it…
It’s been well-documented by now and anyone working in the area long enough will readily confirm it: Vocations are simply hard to come by. They require resources, ingenuity, planning, an appreciation of small successes and an almost undying patience … from both those discerning and those directing. As recently reported in The Irish Catholic, the…
The Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, has invited the faithful to participate in a day of prayer and fasting on October 7, one year after Hamas launched its brutal surprise attack on Israel. “The month of October is approaching,” Cardinal Pizzaballa wrote in a September 26 letter addressed to the Latin Patriarchate of…
Fr Barry White The understanding of the laity’s role in the Church has evolved considerably, especially since the Second Vatican Council, which emphasised their central participation in the Church’s mission. Rooted in the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation, laypeople are called to share in Christ’s kingly, priestly, and prophetic office. Their participation is not merely…
The Society of St Vincent de Paul marked the Feast Day of their patron saint with a special Mass celebrated by the Most Reverend Alan McGuckian SJ, Bishop of Down and Connor, at St Vincent de Paul Parish Church in Ligoniel, Belfast, on September 24. Nearly 100 members of Ireland’s largest voluntary charity attended the…
Visualising the Celtic Revival: The Arts and Crafts movement in Ireland selected writings by Nicola Gordon Bowe, edited by Róisín Kennedy (Four Courts Press, €55.00 / £50.00) The late Nicola Gordon Bowe was one of the most distinguished art historians of her time in Ireland. She was widely admired for her books about the stained glass…
The Amergin Step: An Exploration in the Imagination of Iveragh by Paddy Bushe (Dingle Publishing Services, €30.00 / £25.00; contact Árd na Caithne, Ballyferriter, Tralee, Co Kerry; email: info@dinglepublishing.com; tel: +353 89 483 3793) Gabriel Fitzmaurice Paddy Bushe, one of Ireland’s outstanding poets both as Gaeilge and in English, has with this, his latest book, The Amergin Step, gifted…
The latest Pew survey found that most Catholics in the US and Latin America still view Pope Francis favourably, although this percentage has declined over the years. In his native Argentina, over the last decade his favourable rating has fallen from 98% to 74%. Chile has seen the second-largest decline, going from 79% to 64%. In Colombia,…
Thomas O’Reilly A four-day visit to Belgium by Pope Francis acted as the perfect bellwether in what many regard as Western Europe’s most secular country as greater than-expected numbers flocked to see the Pontiff, dissuaded by showery weather and a last-minute attempt by political elites to dredge up abuse scandals. In the first papal visit…
Brandon Scott
Peter Costello