The author of Does Religion do More Harm Than Good? talks to Greg Daly In a way, Rupert Shortt admits, the central question posed by his new book Does Religion Do More Harm than Good? Is a ridiculous one. As has been pointed out, he says, religion is an aspect of culture, and it shouldn’t…
“I’m Christian,” Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp reminded a terminally-ill fan ahead of the Merseyside team’s Champions League victory against Tottenham Hotspur. The German coach sent a video message to Dave Evans, a Coventry-based Liverpool fan with terminal cancer, in response to former Reds striker Stan Collymore’s call for Liverpool stars to “let him know he’ll…
The Pope’s trip to Romania showed how Christians must persist in the faith no matter what their challenges, writes Greg Daly The witness of Romania’s martyred bishops are a constant reminder that Christians must resist ideologies that seek to stifle and suppress their cultural and religious traditions, Pope Francis said on the last day of…
Rebuilding a pro-life movement is a real challenge, but a vital one, writes Greg Daly “I’ve decided that one year ago today was the lowest point in our nation’s history,” observed Maria Steen at The Irish Catholic Pro-Life Conference, continuing, “and while we are yet to see the full ramifications of abortion in our country…
The election of three new councillors for Aontú will give the pro-life party a solid base for the next general election, party leader Peadar Tóibín TD has said. “We’re delighted with the results of the elections,” Mr Tóibín told The Irish Catholic. “In the constituencies we’ve run in, we’ve averaged between 4 and 5% of…
Few articles have raised more eyebrows among Catholics online of late than James Carroll’s inflammatory piece in theatlantic.com entitled ‘Abolish the priesthood’ and subtitled ‘To save the Church, Catholics must detach themselves from the clerical hierarchy – and take the Faith back into their own hands’. By no means worthless, and in some ways a…
Religious and non-religious people share more than common stereotypes might suggest, according to a major study presented at the Vatican this week. “Our data directly counter common stereotypes about unbelievers,” Dr Jon Lanham of Queen’s University Belfast said of the Understanding Unbelief programme, which mapped the diversity of unbelief across Brazil, China, Denmark, Japan, the…
Pope Francis’ decision to allow priests to lead formal parish pilgrimages to Medjugorje, where Mary has allegedly been appearing since 1981, has been enthusiastically welcomed by leading Irish promoters of the pilgrimage site. Over two years after Archbishop Henryk Hoser of Warszawa-Praga was named as the Pope’s special envoy to the Bosnia-Herzegovinan shrine, tasked with…
Fine Gael is out of step with the Christian Democrat parties with which it shares a platform in the European Parliament, according to a former senator who lost the party whip in 2013 when she voted against the legalisation of abortion. “I just think that they’ve lost all sight of principle. That doesn’t seem to…
There has been a mixed reaction in Ireland to norms published by Pope Francis to tackle abuse and cover-up in the Church. Archbishop Eamon Martin has hailed Vos Estis Lux Mundi (‘You are the Light of the World’), the Pope’s apostolic letter on safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults as “a significant move for the…