Posted on 05. Mar, 2008 in Community, Discrimination, Family
In 2007, the HSE’s dedicated elder abuse officers dealt with 927 cases of Elder Abuse. Age Action has confirmed that the main abuser is often a family member, and that the vast majority of older people are abused in their own homes. Eileen Good asked Eamon Timmons of Age Action about these findings and first […]
Posted on 23. Jan, 2008 in Community, Festivals, Young people
Young people all over the country are preparing for World Youth Day 2008 in Sydney, through fundraising and group activities. Trish O’Neill is World Youth Day co-ordinator for the parish of Kildare and Laughlin and she is helping young people in her parish prepare for the day. She is also helping organise events for those […]
Posted on 09. Jan, 2008 in Church Teachings, Community, Relationships
Oblate priest Fr. Charlie Burrows is parish priest in Cilacap in Indonesia – a country which is 96% Islamic. Fr. Charlie believes that the way forward in such a situation is “…for change of heart on all sides if there is to be progress in inter-faith dialogue and for all religions to become vessels of […]
Posted on 09. Jan, 2008 in Church Teachings, Community
This year marks the 100th Anniversary of the week of Prayer for Christian Unity. The week runs from January 18th – 25th and this year the chosen theme is ‘Pray without Ceasing.’ Miriam Gormally met up with Rev. Patrick Comerford to learn more about Christian Unity and began by asking him if ecumenism has become […]
Posted on 07. Jan, 2008 in Community, Economy, Faith and Justice, Poverty, Refugees
A New Year brings new conflict. The recent flare up in Gaza reminds us that there are always people who are displaced from their homes, people who lose everything and people who have to flee their countries to find asylum. Some, though indeed not many end up in Ireland. And in these times when we […]
Posted on 12. Dec, 2007 in Charity, Community, Poverty
As a result of a workshop organised by the Presentation Brothers in Cork in 1970, students explored the city and found elderly citizens living in appalling conditions. Instead of bemoaning the plight of these people, the students took a proactive approach, and with the support of the Brothers, and the community SHARE was established. The […]
Posted on 12. Dec, 2007 in Church Teachings, Community, Faith and Justice
This year marks the centenary of the birth of Pedro Arrupe SJ. A missionary and later Superior General, he was a pivotal figure in shaping the path of the Jesuit order. Traditionally the Jesuits had been more involved in education, but Arrupe, sensitive to the needs of social justice, gave his life to promoting Jesuit […]
Posted on 28. Nov, 2007 in Charity, Community, Poverty
In their annual report just launched, V. de P. President, Mairead Bushnell gave a startling account of the time and expenditure of the organisation in 2006. Almost €814,000 was spent every week – throughout the year this amounted to over €42.3 Million! As well as helping with financial problems, some 9,500 volunteers made over 300,000 […]
Posted on 31. Oct, 2007 in Community, Discrimination, Faith and Justice
Increasingly in Ireland today, we are becoming more aware of the need to reach out to the migrants living among us; but how can we do this in a way that shows care for the people involved rather than seeing them as a ‘problem’ to be addressed? The Irish Episcopal Commission for Emigrants is hosting […]
Posted on 31. Oct, 2007 in Community, Health
They say that a dog is a man’s best friend, but can getting a visit from a pet have actual health or healing benefits. Fr. Brian (pronounced Breen) O’Sullivan chairman of Peata believes so. Through Peata he organizes pet visits for those in long-term hospitals or nursing homes and says it can really make a […]