Remembering John Hume

Posted on 06. Aug, 2020 in Achievement, Christian Values, Community, Conflict, Death, Gospel Values

John Hume, one of the key architects of the Good Friday Agreement, “never lost faith in peace”, mourners at his funeral have been told. The former SDLP leader and Nobel Prize laureate died on Monday, August the 3rd, aged 83. Due to Covid-19 restrictions on gatherings, there were limited numbers of about one hundred people […]

Faith and the Climate Crisis

Posted on 21. May, 2020 in Christian Values, Community, Ecology, Faith and Justice, Gospel Values

Dr Lorna Gold is a Scottish-Irish academic, climate campaigner and author. She also works for Trócaire and has been heavily involved in their climate campaign. Inspired by Laudato Si’ she will be hosting, “A Love Letter to the Earth” on May 24th, celebrating the fifth anniversary its publication. Here she talks with Miriam Gormally about faith and […]

Women of the Cross

Posted on 09. Apr, 2020 in Christian Values, Church Teachings, Community, Feminism/Women in the Church, Gospel Values

As we continue through Lent towards Holy Week, Good Friday and Holy Saturday we are asked not to rush, not to start preparations for the resurrection, but to wait, to understand our own powerlessness. Beginning this week and continuing through Eastertide, we will run this series looking a six prominent women who featured in the […]

Understanding the Sacrament of the Sick

Posted on 26. Mar, 2020 in Christian Values, Community, Death, Gospel Values, Health

Australian Jesuit Fr Richard Leonard, author of Hatch, Match & Dispatch: A Catholic Guide to Sacraments, talks to Pat Coyle  about the sacrament of the anointing of the sick. Pointing to the miracles, he emphasises that Christ’s mission was clearly one of healing with the sacrament as part of the tradition. He notes that the […]

Hammarskjöld – Mystic and Martyr

Posted on 19. Mar, 2020 in Christian Values, Economy, Gospel Values, Spirituality

US President John F. Kennedy called Dag Hammarskjöld “the greatest statesman of our century”. Born in Sweeden he was appointed to the post of UN Secretary-General in 1953. During his term, Hammarskjöld tried to smooth relations between Israel and the Arab states. Other highlights include a 1955 visit to China to negotiate release of 11 […]

Beloved Amazonia

Posted on 27. Feb, 2020 in Christian Values, Church Teachings, Community, Ecology, Environment, Gospel Values

In a surprising move from Pope Francis, his long-awaited document Apostolic Exhortation in response to the deliberations of the Pan-Amazonian synod, does not not address the question of the ordination of mature married men to the priesthood. Instead, in the text known as Querida Amazonia – Beloved Amazonia, he pitches hard for environmental and social […]

Carbon Fast for Lent

Posted on 27. Feb, 2020 in Christian Values, Climate Change, Community, EcoCongregations, Ecology, Environment, Faith and Justice, Gospel Values, Nature

Lent is a time to draw connections between our spirituality and the ecology around us, so says, Brendan McManus SJ, who has been exploring meaningful ways in which to make a difference this Lent. After some searching, he came across the idea of a carbon fast for Lent. However he says that the most important […]

Understanding the Elections

Posted on 13. Feb, 2020 in Community, Faith and Justice, Gospel Values, Politicians

The success of Sinn Féin in the last elections changed the political landscape of Ireland. It was unexpected, arguably even to the party themselves and left many wondering what was going on. Kevin Hargaden is a theologian with the Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice in Dublin. His is the author of Theological Ethics in a […]

The power of forgiveness

Posted on 06. Feb, 2020 in Church Teachings, Community, Gospel Values, Grief

Eight years ago Elber, a native of Cork, was left fighting for survival in an incident that took the life of her baby Oisín, her husband Con, and her unborn child. A suicidal driver, Marek Wojciechowski, deliberately drove into the family car at the end of a blissful family holiday in Devon. Police were searching […]

Well of Living Water

Posted on 23. Jan, 2020 in Christian Values, Community, Family, Feminism/Women in the Church, Gospel Values, Humane Vitae

Well of Living Water: Jesus and the Samaritan Woman is the title of Messenger Publications’ latest book, written by Magdalen Lawler, a Notre Dame sister living in London.  In this, her latest book, Magdalen uses an inspirational icon of the Samaritan ‘women at the well’ to help the reader reflect on the significance and meaning […]