Fifteen young men, all in their late twenties, entered their local cathedral church on a beautiful Saturday morning. A couple of hours later they left the cathedral as fifteen newly-ordained young priests. That happened twenty-one years ago, and one of those fifteen was me. When we left, the seminary was full, with about a hundred young men studying to follow…
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The NHS is present in the news daily. Certainly, this has been true over the last couple of weeks because this year marks the 70th anniversary of the foundation of the NHS. That ought to be something to celebrate, but more often than not, the NHS news stories appearing on our screens concern its alleged failings or problems. Only the…
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For me it wasn’t a happy return from my recent holiday. I pulled a muscle in my back as I laid foot on my doorstep while shifting my suitcase. Then I learned that during my absence a number of parishioners had suddenly become seriously ill, and that one had passed away… So, you see, it really wasn’t a happy return.…
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It was 30 years ago, in a country openly hostile to Christianity. The Catholic Church was heavily restricted in Her mission. As a young man, I asked a certain priest to help me buy a Bible. This was a rather challenging task in the reality of the time and place. A week or so later he called me to meet…
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The Great Wall of China. Hadrian’s Wall. The Berlin Wall. The Iron Curtain. The Korean Demarcation Line. The Israel-Gaza barrier. These are just a few examples of physical barriers people have put up to separate themselves effectively from others. I believe there’s another one planned along the Mexican-American border. When such a massive construction effort is undertaken, it’s usually driven…