The plight of hundreds of migrants floundering and drowning in the Mediterranean in the past week and efforts to rescue them paled in comparison to the efforts made by governments to rescue five tourists in a submersible in the vicinity of the Titanic, writes Fr...
We must buy less clothes Fr Sean McDonagh warns as he highlights the impact of fast fashion on our waste crisis, on those who work in the industry, and the climate cost of producing plastic-based textiles. Research published In May 2023 by the University of...
The Korean War ended seventy years ago, but memories of the victims are still fresh. Amongst those who died was Columban martyr Fr Jim Maginn. Fr John Boles visited Korea to learn more about his story. Panmunjeom must rank as one of the world’s most bizarre tourist...
The Cáin Adomnáin is known as the ‘Geneva Accords’ of the ancient Irish and it is Europe's first human rights treaty, writes Columban missionary Fr Dermot Carthy. The 20th century saw two world wars in one generation, and a lot of conflicts in which countless...
New life in the form of new people bring new ideals of energy, creativity and inspiration writes Columban missionary Fr Bobby Gilmore, as he expresses concern over hostility towards destitute people on the move. It was summertime and the rivulet had changed its...
As the Church prepares for Pentecost on Sunday 28th May 2023, Fr Donal McIlraith considers the Columban Pentecost which has seen between one and two thousand priests, brothers and Lay Missionaries, like Peter, speaking foreign tongues and bringing the good news of...
At the beginning of May 2023, Geoffrey Hinton, often portrayed as the godfather of artificial intelligence (AI), quit his job and warned about the developments in that technology, writes Columban missionary, Fr Seán McDonagh. His pioneering work and research on...
The theme for this year's Earth Day, 22nd April 2023, was ‘Invest in our Planet.’ Real investment will not happen if we are unclear about what the current environmental problems are, warns Columban missionary Fr Sean McDonagh. In August 2021, the 6th Assessment...
By mid-afternoon on Holy Saturday, there was already a steady hum of activity at Holy Trinity Church in Xiantao, about 100 km west of Wuhan, writes Columban missionary Fr Dan Troy. Food was being prepared for those who had travelled long distances two days earlier...
Proverbs are the ancient wisdom of a country’s culture expressed in pithy sentences – and often with humour. Proverbs provide missionaries with an insight into how their adopted people think and act, writes Columban missionary Fr Barry Cairns. To an aged person (I...