Professor William Reville examines the controversial philosophy of David Benatar My colleague Dr Tom Moore, senior lecturer in the biochemistry department, UCC, gave a public lecture at UCC on January 18 that attracted a lot of interest. Tom described a proposal outlined by the South African philosopher David Benatar in his recent book,…
Niamh Harley describes her experience of Medjugorje At the start of last year, I was picked to go on a pilgrimage to Medjugorje as part of a school group. We decided to go as we had heard very good reports. Medjugorje was described as ”a place like nowhere else”; not sure what this…
Fr Michael Collins All around the country, young musicians are busy practising. Some are getting ready for their Leaving Certificate and State exams. Others are getting ready for Third Level exams. But a great number are preparing for the Feis Ceoil. Founded in 1896, the Feis Ceoil has seen several generations of musicians…
The Course of Irish History Edited by T.W. Moody and F.X. Martin (Mercier Press, €20.00/£16.00) Felix M. Larkin This book, now re-issued in a fifth edition, has been one of the most widely read of our history books. Indeed, it can be said to be itself a part of our history. First published in 1966,…
The Corrymeela Community, in partnership with Auburn Seminary, New York, has opened the application process for an international interfaith youth leadership programme, ‘Face to Face/Faith to Faith’. This programme brings together young people from Northern Ireland, South Africa, the United States and the Middle East with the common goal of working towards peaceful communities.…
The Loving God By Wilfrid Harrington OP (Columba €12.99./ £10.85) Anthony Redmond Albert Einstein once said that the religious person was one who had found an answer to the question: ”What is the ultimate meaning of life?” For the atheist, there is no answer to the ultimate yet immediate questions of human life. Ivan Karamazov…
The Maid and the Queen: the Secret History of Joan of Arc and Yolande of Aragon By Nancy Goldstone (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, €23.95/£20) Peter Hegarty This year marks the 600th anniversary of the birth of Joan of Arc. The story of St Joan, the illiterate peasant girl who led the French army to victory against…
Are there not more important issues than the Embassy to the Holy See, asks Margaret Hickey I find it strange that the first public re-grouping of the Catholic faithful in the aftermath of the Dublin, Ferns and Cloyne Reports should be centered on a campaign to restore Ireland’s embassy to the Holy See.…
The Second Vatican Council remains a living issue, writes Francis X. Rocca Fifty years ago this October, Blessed John XXIII and more than 2,500 bishops and heads of religious orders from around the world gathered in St Peter’s Basilica for the opening session of the Second Vatican Council. Over the following three years, Vatican…
By ignoring the potential of co-operatives we are missing out on an opportunity for economic growth, writes FrDermot McKenna SJ Regrettably, co-operative enterprise is not held in high esteem by our Government, by our professionals, by our teachers, or even by our Churches. It would be interesting to know if any of our third-level…