Dear Editor, Fr McGillicuddy’s letter in last week’s Irish Catholic (IC 19/09/13) should provide useful food for thought for those who may have doubts about the existence of God. Similarly, an open-minded study of the Miracle of the Sun in Fatima on October 13, 1917 can help non-believers. In recent years Gunther Stolz, a German scientist who…
admin
The Illustrated Story of Art
Though the text is compact, the range of art over time which some five scholars have put together gives a revealing appreciation of what art has been since earliest times, enhanced by many fine and often unusual illustrations. As a basic text, it covers a great deal, though one has qualms that fully a quarter of…
Renewal buried under red tape
Dear Editor, The letter from Seamus Flanagan (‘We need renewal, not reform’ IC 05/09/13), is tremendous, yet written in clear, simple language. I agree completely with him. That is the very heart of the matter. Over the centuries the Church has been gradually choked. Whatever good reform brought, through councils, canon law, etc., has been…
Pope Francis is a Pope for our times
Dear Editor, As the pontificate of Pope Francis continues through its first year, it is becoming ever more certain that the right man for the Church of our times was chosen by the conclave in March. The personal style Francis has brought to the papacy has appealed to all who believe in the caring and…
Reconciliation is key
The fact that peace is more than the absence of war is so self-evident it hardly seems worthwhile pointing out. Nevertheless, the truism bears repeating in the particular context of the Northern peace process. By any objective measure the 1998 Good Friday Agreement and the ceasefires that precipitated the accord have been a stunning…
‘Rebel priests’ may reinvigorate the Church
Open debate and free discourse are healthy, so maybe it’s good that we are witnessing “rebel priests”, such as Fr Iggy O’Donovan, Fr Gerard Moloney, Fr Tony Flannery and Fr Brian D’Arcy making their opinions known, even when this invites Vatican disapproval. I am not sure if the correct word really is “silenced”, since…
Disappearing Roots
"Home is where we start from.” T.S. Eliot wrote that and it describes an experience that can be felt both as a freedom and as a heartache. I cite my own case: I grew up in a second-generation immigrant community on the Canadian prairies. My grandparents’ generation had been the first settlers in that…
‘Sanctity stronger than scandals’ – Pope
Pope Francis offered words of encouragement to Rome’s priests this week, assuring them that recent and current scandals cannot overcome the Church’s holiness and urging them to keep their vocations alive through love of God. The Pope made his remarks at a meeting with diocesan clergy in the Basilica of St John Lateran, the…
Vatican news
Vatican plans diplomatic drive for peace The Vaticanís new secretary of state plans to use the Churchís vast global diplomatic network to build peace. Archbishop Pietro Parolin (pictured) said Pope Francis has already injected a new impetus into the Vaticanís Secretariat of State structure and given a new push for Church-led diplomacy. The…
A house of hospitality and heritage
Sarah Kelly takes a tour of the Mercy International Centre in Dublin