Posted on 26. Jan, 2017 in Christian Values, Community, Conflict, Crime, Gospel Values, Young people
Feb 8th is the feast day of St Josephine Bakhita, a Sudanese-born former slave who became a nun. It is also the international day of prayer and awareness against human trafficking. St Bakhita’s experience of being enslaved and sold continues today with human trafficking still being one of the largest illegal industries. Ruth Kilcullen from MECPATHS […]
Posted on 17. Nov, 2016 in Christian Values, Conflict, Crime, Gospel Values, Prison
This second part of The Volunteer continues by looking at how Shane O’Doherty was arrested and his subsequent life in prison. It explores how he turned from a bomber to someone who publically and privately called for an end to all violence. He talks about the power of prayer and how it sustains him through life […]
Posted on 14. Jul, 2016 in Christian Values, Church Teachings, Crime, Faith and Justice, Feminism/Women in the Church, Human Trafficking
Ruth Killcullen is director of Mecpaths, Mercy Efforts to Counter Child Prostitution and Trafficking in the Hospitality Sector. Her work focuses on raising awareness amongst hotel owners of the prevalence of children being abused on their premises. She is also an advocate of legislation that follows the Nordic model in making paying for sex illegal […]
Posted on 23. Jun, 2016 in Crime
Professor Peter Steinfels on left Professor Peter Steinfels at Fordham University, New York worked as a religious columnist for the New York Times from 1990-2000. He looked at how the media might be used as a source for the history of the Catholic sex abuse scandals in the United States. While he feels that the […]
Posted on 02. Jun, 2016 in Christian Values, Community, Conflict, Crime, Death, Economy
Rev Alan Boal is a Presbyterian minister in Findlater’s church in north inner city Dublin – very close to the scene of the latest killing in a feud between two families from the area. Because of this he says that the Pope’s call to gangland criminals and organised crime bosses in this “Jubilee Year of Mercy” […]
Posted on 24. Mar, 2016 in Chaplaincy, Christian Values, Community, Crime, Education, Holy Week, Places of Conflict, Poverty, Prison, Rehabilitation, Seasons of the Church Year
A recent article in the Irish Times featured an interview with Stephen Plunkett, chief executive of U-Casadh, a programme aimed at rehabilitating prisoners. In it he says that the vast majority of prisoners are not violent and shouldn’t be locked up but rather rehabilitated. The Easter Christian message in particular reminds us of the respect […]
Posted on 19. Nov, 2015 in Christian Values, Conflict, Crime, Death, Grief
The dreadful events in Paris causes everybody to wonder where this violence came from and what led up to it? Sometimes different agendas get played out and people seize their chance to push a course – Rumsfeld in US after 9/11 used the occasion to go after Saddam Hussein; Marion Le Pen in France today […]
Posted on 06. Aug, 2015 in Church Teachings, Crime, Death, Faith and Justice, Young people
The Taizé Community is an ecumenical monastic order in Taizé, France. It is composed of more than one hundred brothers, from Protestant and Catholic traditions, who originate from about thirty countries across the world. It was founded in 1940 by Brother Roger Schutz. Bronagh McAuley, a volunteer at Taizé, spoke to us about the events […]
Posted on 08. Jan, 2015 in Conflict, Crime, Family, Married Couples
The extra stress of the Christmas Season is unfortunatley one of the times when incidence and severity of domestic violence increases. However, under pressure with trying to hold it all together for their families, women often don’t look for help until the New Year. Margaret Martin, Director of Women’s Aid talked about the aftermath of […]
Posted on 26. Jun, 2014 in Christian Values, Crime, Gospel Values, Humane Vitae, Uncategorized
“Those who go down the evil path, as the Mafiosi do, are not in communion with God. They are excommunicated,” Pope Francis said on Saturday June 21st in Calabria, a mob-heavy region in southern Italy. The thousands who had gathered underneath the hot sun cheered. Pope Francis’ pronouncement was the strongest censure of the mafia so […]