Celebrating 400 years of the Irish College, Louvain

This year the 400th anniversary of the foundation of St Anthony’s College, the Irish Franciscan College in Louvain, is celebrated. Brian Mac Cuarta was in Louvain for the occasion.

From the Louvain celebration website:

St Anthony’s College, the Irish Franciscan College in Louvain was founded in May 1607 by Florence Conry, Irish Franciscan, theologian and aide to Red Hugh O’Donnell. The College was founded under the patronage of the King of Spain in Louvain (now Leuven) one of the most important university cities in Europe. Read more »

Paddy Lydon announces his retirement from the Jes.

Paddy Lydon will end a fifty-two year association with Coláiste Iognáid, Galway, when he retires later this year from his position as principal.

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Mr. Pádhraic (Paddy) Lydon, Principal of Coláiste Iognáid, Galway has announced to the Board of Management that he intends to resign as Principal, effective from November 5th 2007. His departure will, for him, mark the end of a fifty-two year association with the school. Paddy first arrived at Coláiste Iognáid as a twelve year-old boy in 1955 and sat the Leaving Certificate in 1961. Read more »

Happiness and the inner self

Below is an edited version of a talk to the ‘Happiness and Its Causes’ Conference, given in Sydney on June 15, 2007, by Clive Hamilton. The original may be found on the Eureka Street website. Eureka Street is a magazine produced by the Australian Jesuit province.

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We all want to live a happy life. But what do we think of when we think of our own happiness? If asked, most of us would talk about having loving and supportive relationships with family and friends, and of having fulfilling and stimulating work, whether paid or unpaid. Read more »

What hope for faith in the new Ireland?

Michael Paul Gallagher SJ spoke to almost 400 priests at a recent Dublin Diocesan conference. He explored such issues as changes in Irish culture, the challenge of post-modernism, and the “languages of faith”.

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The title of my presentation for the Dublin priests was “After a cultural revolution, what hope for faith?”, and I described it more as an evocation than a lecture.Using about sixty images in PowerPoint, there were three main parts. The first section tried to evoke the changes in Dublin over the last generation. Karl Rahner once said that what changes is not faith itself but the context for the decision of faith. Read more »

Democracy and happiness – a good kind of warfare

by Edmond Grace SJ

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Appendix II: Warfare and Spirituality

Peace cannot be sustained by the shrill denunciation of those who resort to armed violence and certainly not by a supercilious disregard of those who love military life. We place peace in danger if we underestimate the power of warfare to seduce young men, in particular, and if we fail to devise ways of overcoming that seduction. One does not have to agree with the pacifism of the English war veteran, Vera Brittain, to be moved by what she wrote in 1933 about the fascination which warfare can exert on those who take part in it: Read more »

Democracy and happiness

Edmond Grace SJ’s book, Democracy and Public Happiness, was launched last week in the Rotunda of City Hall, Dublin Castle, by Eamon.

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PREFACE: A reflection on the democratic process, based on the proceedings of the Dialogue on Democracy Seminar, Dublin 2004-2005

One of the hallmarks of Irish political heritage, on both sides of the Atlantic, has been a capacity to devise new and imaginative forms of opposition. The peaceful mass meeting, the boycott and the tightly disciplined party were all pioneered in Ireland and all had the same objective – to ensure that people on the margins of power had a more effective say in government. These strategies posed a direct and peaceful challenge to the political institutions of the English-speaking world and the readiness of those institutions to respond to that challenge became the measure of their democratic legitimacy. Read more »

Democracy and making the people happy

Edmond Grace’s book, Democracy and Happiness, the fruit of a lengthy consultation process with many leading Irish public servants, was launched last week at the Rotunda in City Hall, Dublin, by Minister Eamon Ryan.

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Edmond Grace SJ worked in the Dublin inner-city parish of Gardiner St. and was a founder member of the Dublin Citywide Drugs Crisis Campaign. His work there brought him into contact with politicians and public servants and his book has its roots in this experience where he began to see the value and power of good public service. Read more »

Addiction and the issue of vision and values

Manresa held a very successful seminar last weekend on addiction in Irish society. A number of specialist speakers focused on situating the problem, analysing underlying issues, and seeking ways of dealing more effectively with the causes.

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Reflecting on the major seminar on ‘Addiction and a Changing society’, held in Manresa last weekend, the Director, Fr. Paddy Carberry, S.J., confessed to being overwhelmed by the extent of the problem and, at the same time, encouraged by the determination of all present to tackle the issue. Read more »

Democracy and Happiness – a good kind of warfare

by Edmond Grace SJ

Warfare and Spirituality Peace cannot be sustained by the shrill denunciation of those who resort to armed violence and certainly not by a supercilious disregard of those who love military life. We place peace in danger if we underestimate the power of warfare to seduce young men, in particular, and if we fail to devise ways of overcoming that seduction. One does not have to agree with the pacifism of the English war veteran, Read more »