Hope by Pope Francis review: Don’t believe the hype, this is another triumph of marketing over substanceFar from the autobiography it is described as, Francis uses recollections to reflect on current eventsWed Jan 15 2025 - 11:14
Navigating spam emails: ‘I’m overwhelmed that my address won me ‘the sum of $500,000’’It is heartwarming to know so many people are thinking of me and ready to offer unexpected giftsMon Jan 13 2025 - 05:10
Ireland has been surpassed as ‘the largest open-air lunatic asylum in the world’In a Word ... OldMon Dec 30 2024 - 00:30
Monasticism in Ireland: AD 900-1250 by Edel Bhreathnach – A valuable contribution to the history of the Irish churchA scholarly work that seeks to deepen our understanding of Irish monasticism and its influence on church traditionsSat Dec 28 2024 - 00:00
Vatican Spies by Yvonnick Denoel: This could have provided John le Carré with enough material for a second careerThis is a thoroughly researched book about espionage on and by the VaticanWed Dec 25 2024 - 05:00
Where to now for our declining churches? Younger clergy reflect on a brighter futureExciting times are ahead for Christian communities, based on joy, hope, energy and finding context and relevance in contemporary societyTue Dec 24 2024 - 06:00
Bethlehem now ‘a Palestinian village subjected to intense intimidation, social starvation’, say church leadersChurch of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin Michael Jackson says reaction to immigration in Ireland has been ‘physical and shameful’Mon Dec 23 2024 - 06:00
In a Word ... Stable‘Looking at her there in the stable he pondered on what might lie ahead’Mon Dec 23 2024 - 00:30
Irish Quakers join ‘Twitter eXodus’, abandoning social network over misinformation and harmful contentElon Musk’s social media network has been a source of ‘disquiet for many years’, says religious groupTue Dec 17 2024 - 17:32
Archbishop of Dublin says public’s expectation for the new Dáil should be ‘tempered with realism’Catholic Archbishop Dermot Farrell said people needed to be realistic even with ‘unprecedented revenue flows’Tue Dec 17 2024 - 17:17
Beware of vegan propaganda. Carrots have feelings tooMeat abstainers cry ‘fowl’ at those eating turkey, duck or goose this Christmas. But is there not an inconsistency here?Mon Dec 16 2024 - 00:30
Presbyterian leadership accused of reducing church to a ‘sect’ and importing culture warsRetired academic criticises treatment of former minister at Sandymount who resigned after disciplinary inquiriesFri Dec 13 2024 - 06:00
A critique of those who have opinions on everything but do very little about anythingYou may find the following attitude strange from an ex-theatre criticMon Dec 09 2024 - 00:30
Abused by Br Paul Dunleavy: ‘The real damage was not just what happened physically, but the lessons I learned from it’Brendan Dowling made a complaint to the Christian Brothers about abuse by one of their members long before criminal cases were takenTue Dec 03 2024 - 06:00
Bishop cries foul over closure of Mountjoy prison chapel amid works linked to overcrowdingPrison seeks to ‘adjust the footprint of an underutilised space to the rear of Mountjoy chapel’ to create video link area for court appearancesFri Nov 29 2024 - 06:00
In a Word ... Swiftie (the originals)Those of us who admire Jonathan Swift, the contrary old weed, were the original SwiftiesMon Nov 25 2024 - 00:30
Protestants in Ireland: ‘We’ve gone after the young generations. We’ve listened and changed how we do things’A younger generation of Protestants ‘are flocking away from the church’ yet ‘becoming more spiritual’Sun Nov 24 2024 - 06:00
Further 12 Spiritan abuse survivors come forward since September’s scoping inquiryMore survivors of abuse at Spiritan schools come forward since September when the inquiry found 347 allegations of child sex abuse at the five schoolsWed Nov 20 2024 - 06:00
My big week: a €90,000 lottery win and an investment opportunity with the US Department of the TreasuryWeirdly, I have no memory of entering this drawMon Nov 18 2024 - 00:30
Priest numbers in Dublin to fall 70 per cent in 20 years, report predictsOnly two priests have been ordained in capital’s archdiocese since 2020, with none so far this yearMon Nov 11 2024 - 17:01
How multicultural Ireland is contributing to a growth in the Presbyterian ChurchMaynooth Community Church is among those bucking the trend of decline in church membership, boosting its congregation with people of faith from overseasMon Nov 11 2024 - 01:00
Why it pays to be correct when it comes to correctionsA recent New York Times clarification about Ireland’s non-British status was a reminder that such things can happen to any publicationMon Nov 11 2024 - 00:30
In the Hood’s WhatsApp group, Snowy the four-legged interloper is kingThe fate of an ill-behaved local feline who suddenly vanishes has everyone on tenterhooks – but for different reasonsMon Nov 04 2024 - 00:30
Minister censured by Presbyterian Church for taking part in LGBTI+ religious service on RTÉNorthern Ireland Corrymeela group said it is ‘deeply concerned’ at the censuring of Dublin minister Rev Dr Katherine MeyerWed Oct 30 2024 - 19:26
Catholic Church needs clear rules on victim compensation, Vatican’s commission findsVatican commission stresses ‘the importance of compensation for victims/survivors, as a concrete commitment to their healing journey’Tue Oct 29 2024 - 18:08
It can be galling to hear rogues lauded as God’s gift to humanity in eulogies at funeral servicesThose who know the truth feel obliged by ritual to go through the expected (e)motionsMon Oct 28 2024 - 00:30
In a Word ... WildingI cannot walk by the front lawn at Trinity College Dublin without being reminded of my fatherFri Oct 25 2024 - 00:30
Catholic bishops call on TDs to reject proposals on assisted dying in Wednesday’s Dáil vote Proposals recommend allowing assisted dying in restricted circumstancesWed Oct 23 2024 - 12:17
Sexual abuse of children by priests was known ‘at all levels’ in Catholic Church, says Archbishop of DublinThere was ‘no effort made to deal with perpetrators’ Dermot Farrell tells US Catholic TV networkTue Oct 22 2024 - 13:37
Opus by Gareth Gore: Shining a light on the ‘dark money’ behind a shadowy Catholic organisationA deeply disturbing and important book which will interest and concern anyone who believes in that blessed trinity of modern democracy – openness, transparency and accountabilityMon Oct 21 2024 - 05:00
Let’s get a grip and celebrate the turnaround in migrationIn a word: Immigration, we need itMon Oct 21 2024 - 00:30
Laws allowing assisted dying should be strongly opposed, says Catholic PrimateArchbishop Eamon Martin speaking as legislation on issue introduced at WestminsterWed Oct 16 2024 - 15:52
From Aoife to Siobhán, pronouncing Irish names couldn’t be simpler. Even if you’re talking to CaoilfhionnMind you, there are two boys’ names that can be quite confusingMon Oct 14 2024 - 00:30
Note from a man whose workplace has been mistaken for a wedding venueIn a Word ... Spam: For all of you ‘urgently interested’ in this writer’s ‘prosperous business’Mon Oct 07 2024 - 00:30
The ‘30 days hath September’ rhyme is believed to date from the early 15th century. Back then they even had the order rightIn a Word ... DaysMon Sept 30 2024 - 00:30
Priest appeals for return of ‘God’s Influencer’ relic lost at Ploughing ChampionshipsLock of Carlo Acutis’s hair, in black box, brought to event as part of drive to attract more people to religious lifeSat Sept 28 2024 - 14:44
Lower than the Angels: A History of Sex and Christianity review: Magisterial work on theologies around sex Diarmaid MacCulloch’s ambitious book looks at celibacy, marriage, homosexuality and trans issues from the perspective that there is no single consistent view of these in the Bible, Patsy McGarry writesMon Sept 23 2024 - 05:00
In a Word ... PopulationPopulation of island of Ireland is some 7.2 million now compared with 4.21 million in 1931Mon Sept 23 2024 - 00:30
‘Culture of denial’ about child sexual abuse addressed in sermon by Archbishop of Dublin Church has not ‘come to terms with what was done to thousands upon thousands of innocent and vulnerable people’, says Dermot FarrellSun Sept 22 2024 - 13:20
Ashes of abuse survivor Mark Ryan laid to rest in Dublin Bay: ‘I’m doing my best to carry on’Ryan brothers sexually abused at Spiritan-run Blackrock College campus in the 1970sSat Sept 21 2024 - 17:52
Some 21 men begin studies for ordination as Catholic priestsNew group taking part in new Propaedeutic Programme at several locations across EuropeThu Sept 19 2024 - 18:22
‘People were blind to reality faced by visually impaired children’: Abuse survivor of a special school speaks outMichael O’Keeffe, a former pupil of a school for the visually impaired, has chosen to speak out after the recent scoping inquiry revealed a high level of abuse in special education schoolsThu Sept 19 2024 - 06:00
In a Word... LanguageIt may be English. but the Irish version of English can be confusingMon Sept 16 2024 - 00:30
After a meal of spaghetti Bolognese I emerge like a butcher from the slaughterhouseIn a Word ... StainMon Sept 09 2024 - 00:30
Ireland’s school abuse scandal: ‘He got me to do stretches. I remember thinking: this is really weird’The scoping inquiry report into wide-ranging abuse in Irish schools was published on Tuesday. It has prompted another former student to tell his storyFri Sept 06 2024 - 12:18
How abuse in Brothers of Charity special needs schools was exposed – and ignored – 21 years agoInquiry disclosed a disproportionately large number of allegations at these institutionsThu Sept 05 2024 - 06:00
School abuse commission has power to compel answers from religious orders. It should use it It is time the State got to grips with the redress issue where religious congregations are concernedWed Sept 04 2024 - 06:00
Relics of St Bernadette of Lourdes to visit every Catholic diocese in IrelandBernadette Soubirous is said to have seen the Virgin Mary 18 times in 1858Mon Sept 02 2024 - 18:01
In a Word ... AutumnThere something artistic about the random pattern marked on creamy pints by rainMon Sept 02 2024 - 00:30
