The numbers tell a bleak story for the Catholic Church in Ireland
Ireland
Posted inDispatches, Faith
As St. Brigid relic returns to Irish Kildare, bishop reminds all of her strong faith, hospitality
Bishop Denis Nulty of Kildare and Leighlin said he hoped that the newly returned relic of St. Brigid would inspire people to show hospitality to asylum-seekers, at a time of growing protests about immigration in the country.
Posted inExplainer, Faith
Who was St. Brigid—and why is she having a moment in Ireland?
In a country disillusioned with Catholicism, Ireland’s St. Brigid is having a moment.
Posted inDispatches, Faith
The last priests and nuns in Ireland: Exploring the Irish Catholic Church’s steep decline
RTÉ aired two documentaries in January looking at the decline of the Catholic Church in Ireland: “The Last Priests in Ireland” and “The Last Nuns in Ireland.” But signs of hope can still be discerned amid the decline after years of church turbulence.
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Book Club
C. S. Lewis wasn’t a writer of fantasy. He was a teller of hard truths.
C. S. Lewis was gifted with an expansive imagination—but much of his spiritual writing doesn’t flinch from the hard realities of life.
Posted inArts & Culture, Music
Remembering The Pogues’ Shane MacGowan, the raucous and tragic sage of Irish music
Shane MacGowan once said that he was the one that God would use to save Irish music. Despite a public persona that was often less than saintly, he grappled with faith in many of his iconic songs.
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Book Club
Alice McDermott’s place in the canon of great Catholic novelists
Alice McDermott is back with her ninth novel, joining the elite Catholic company of Graham Greene, Evelyn Waugh, Walker Percy and Flannery O’Connor.
Posted inArts & Culture, Vantage Point
From 1999: Brian Moore’s Christ-Haunted Fiction
From Brian Moore’s earliest and best known novel, ‘The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne,’ to his last, ‘The Magician’s Wife,’ the mystery of belief has haunted his best fiction.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Is it Ireland’s turn to ward off a toxic populism?
The protest was organized over social media, where it was dubbed “Call to the Dáil,” drawing participants from far-right groups and individuals nurturing a host of grievances and anxieties about contemporary Irish society, from Covid-19 conspiracies to immigration and transgender issues, housing shortages and the economy.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Is a law that will stop most prosecutions of killings during ‘The Troubles’ really about protecting British soldiers?
With so many political and cultural forces arrayed against the Legacy and Reconciliation proposal, why has Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government pressed on?