Growing up a communist in Troubles-era Belfast: We were treated more like ‘comrades’ than children
Poet Sinéad Morrissey’s elegiac memoir describes growing up in Troubles-era Belfast with communist parents
Religion & Beliefs
Why are religious schools seen as divisive but Irish-language schools are not?
There is a strange double standard about religion in schools as opposed to other areas of learning
‘I have yet to tell my father’: New Catholics on converting to the church this Easter
Mario Durán Domínguez and Joy Adedokun are among 129 people of mostly foreign backgrounds who are joining the church in Dublin this year
My wife, who is not Jewish, asks me if we’ll know when it’s time to leave Ireland
Only after the name-changing debacle of Herzog Park and Bondi beach attack, Government realised the Jewish community were not paranoid
Pregnant girl (16) can be given treatment despite religious objection to blood transfusion
The girl told her court-appointed guardian that if the decision was taken out of her hands it would be easier, but she would still feel guilty about it
Ireland’s Jewish Council reports 143 anti-Semitic incidents in six-month period
Body expresses ‘deep concern’ and urges ‘rapid development of dedicated national plan to counter growing antisemitism’
Religious order to end near 800-year association with Cork when it closes church in city centre
‘Accelerating decline’ in vocations means St Augustine’s on Washington Street will shut its doors in July
The Bahá’ís in Iran have been suffering persecution since the 1800s
Rite & Reason: Tortured and imprisoned because of her faith, Ruhi Jahanpour highlights the ongoing suffering of her co-religionists in Iran
Palestine conflict fuelling Derry divisions, warns Protestant community leader
Increasing sectarian attacks due to polarisation on ‘identity and sovereignty’ issues
Presbyterian Church in Ireland facing child sex abuse ‘earthquake’
Rite & Reason: Rev Norman Hamilton referred to ‘the still high levels of bewilderment, distress and confusion among many members of our Church, as well as in the wider society’
Why Donald Trump has the mind of a cat
Making sense of the 47th US president is not easy, but a 17th century philosopher could have the answer
Magic Maker by Pam Grossman: this word-witch doesn’t disappoint
The occult author weaves a cloak of enchantment for anyone intrigued by the notion that creativity is an expression of both intellect and spirit
No women deacons in the Catholic Church, Vatican Commission decides
Argument against female deacons includes wish to preserve ‘masculinity of Christ’ and of those who receive holy orders
We need secular schools, but also schools that believe in what the nativity play embodies
Freedom of religion is mostly construed as freedom from religion, but it also encompasses the right to practise
A short document with an enduring message: we belong to a single family with one origin and goal
Rite & Reason: Sixty years on, Nostra Aetate is as relevant as ever
Pope Leo condemns violence in name of religion at landmark event in Turkey
Pontiff urges Christian leaders to overcome centuries of heated divisions
Where is the kindness when we talk about trans people?
Number of trans people in Irish society is tiny – and each one is a human being
Two-thirds of humanity live in places where religious freedom is violated
Rite & reason: A culture that continuously excludes and dismisses people on the basis of their Christianity can be guilty of what Pope Francis called “polite persecution”
Why were Buddhist and Hindu traditions not represented at Catherine Connolly’s inauguration?
Rite & Reason: Officiants representing various Christian churches, the Jewish and Islamic faiths and the Humanist Association of Ireland, were invited to say a blessing
Orange Order sends letter of complaint to King Charles after he prayed with Pope Leo
Vatican visit marked first joint worship with a British monarch and a Catholic pontiff since Henry VIII’s rule
The Catholic thinker behind JD Vance’s religious conversion
Unthinkable: French philosopher René Girard developed a theory of scapegoating. The US vice president has weaponised it
Politics of fear: horror has always been deeply political
From Addams Family Values to Dawn of the Dead, the genre is a political Trojan horse concealing all manner of subversive social messages. Here are 10 of the best political horror films for Halloween
Anglican schism as traditionalists reject first female Archbishop of Canterbury
Church of Ireland archbishops have reasserted their loyalty to Canterbury
‘Hatred and racism cannot tear us apart’, says first woman Archbishop of Canterbury Sarah Mullally
Former nurse and mother of two is married to Irishman Eamonn Mullally
Catholics more likely to be concerned about climate change than Protestants, new research shows
Free Presbyterians are most sceptical about climate crisis facing the planet, according to survey
Crosswords & Puzzles
Crosswords & puzzles to keep you challenged and entertained
Stardust
Inquests into the nightclub fire that led to the deaths of 48 people
Common Ground
How does a post-Brexit world shape the identity and relationship of these islands
Family NoticesOpens in new window
Weddings, Births, Deaths and other family notices