Fr Bobby Gilmore recalls an incident of bullying on the rugby pitch at school which woke him up to the existence of unexpected, mean, aggressive, wanton violence. In 1953 I was in second year at boarding school. It was a school that played rugby. Coming from rural...
Six years ago, on a summer Sunday morning, as I stood outside the door of Holy Family Church in Wuhan, I was greeted by a young Chinese woman. A conversation began. Lucy Lu had returned to be with her family in Wuhan, having arrived from the US where she was...
Columban missionary Fr Martin Koroiciri writes about a parish initiative where he ministers in Chile helping the vulnerable in the Covid-19 pandemic. When the Coronavirus pandemic started people thought it was just a passing experience and within a few days things...
Columban missionary Fr Kwang-Kyu Peter Dae-chul writes about the challenges and inspiration of ministering during the Covid-19 pandemic in the Philippines. In the Philippines, the number of the Coronavirus patients has dramatically increased since the beginning of...
We are seeing once again an upsurge in the vicious 'virus' that has spread to every corner of the world warns Columban missionary Fr Shay Cullen. This time, the 'virus' is that of social, cultural, economic, political, institutional, legal and religious...
Holy Thursday for me has always meant the washing of the feet. I missed it last year when in accordance with the Covid directives it was set aside. Its absence provoked a moment of reflection on the Gospel message and an opportunity to remember previous Holy...
In these strange days, I have been reading and reflecting about the theology of the Universe as God’s body (metaphor) writes Columban Fr Brian Vale. God delights in God’s creation all around us, but at the moment large areas of God’s body have the coronavirus and...
Columban missionary, Fr John Boles, explains why Wuhan, now notorious as the probable source of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, signifies Good News for the Columbans. Wuhan! A name now notorious as the probable source of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. But,...
Churches closed on Sundays! No Sunday Mass! It is a shock. Yes, many people had stopped going to Mass for different reasons, but to have the official church telling priests not to have public Masses in their parishes was a remarkable event. Since this new regime...
Fr Bobby Gilmore ministered in Jamaica from 1992-99. In 1999, he returned to Ireland and set up the Migrant Rights Centre Ireland. He writes about the significant contribution immigrant remittances make to two economies. A crisis of papers unfixed, two...