Mariana Silva Mariana Silva is a PhD candidate at Trinity College Dublin, working with Bord na Móna and the Environmental Protection Agency on bog rehabilitation. INTRODUCTION: GENERATION Z, GENERATION LAUDATO SI’ I am a 26-year-old Catholic peatland ecohydrologist. My faith formation, among other Catholics of my generation,1 has been indelibly influenced by Pope Francis’ ecological… Read more »

Davide Dell’Oro SJ Davide Dell’Oro, SJ is an Italian priest of the Society of Jesus. He is currently a visiting scholar at Politecnico di Milano, where he researches building decarbonisation and climate change mitigation and adaptation. He has a Ph.D. and an MSc in Civil Engineering-Architecture from Politecnico di Milano. He was a visiting scholar… Read more »

Peadar Kirby Peadar Kirby is Professor Emeritus of International Politics and Public Policy, University of Limerick and Research Coordinator, Cloughjordan Ecovillage. His novel on the last of the Avignon popes, ‘Misean go Peñiscola’ won second prize in Comórtas Liteartha an Oireachtais 2024. The avalanche of tributes that followed the death of Pope Francis went far… Read more »

Kevin Hargaden Kevin Hargaden is the Director and Social Theologian at the Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice. Ten years ago, Pope Francis gave the Church and the world a great gift. Laudato Si’ was not just an encyclical. It was a turning point: a summons to conversion, a prophetic warning, and a charter for… Read more »

Introduction Many people in Ireland live in poverty. This daily reality for countless households is evident by the large network of organisations—statutory, community, and voluntary—that seek to alleviate poverty and its pernicious effects. These organisations target an array of demographics and focus on ameliorating its specific symptoms such as unemployment or low educational attainment. It… Read more »

Introduction As soon as the modern prison was established, concerns about the treatment of prisoners were expressed from many quarters. With a focus on Irish prisons and prisoners, this essay examines some of the people and organisations involved who conveyed compassion for the plight of prisoners, advocated for improved prison conditions, and supported penal reform.… Read more »

Introduction “Più Italia, meno Europa” (More Italy, less Europe). This was one of the slogans adopted by the Italian far-right party Lega (the League) for the last European elections. Another one was “Cambiamo l’Europa prima che lei cambi noi” (Let’s change Europe, before it changes us). Fratelli d’Italia (Brothers of Italy), the political party of… Read more »

“…the reach of the present extends into the far future.” [1] Henry Shue Introduction Some truths bear repeating. First, we were all once the “future generations” ourselves, existing only as potential until the day we were conceived and born. Second, each of us will most likely, at some point, meet someone from the future—whether our… Read more »

Views from Above and Below Ireland is at a crossroads, indeed it is in crisis. But the cause of the crisis is not some external agency or force. The cause of the crisis is within. There are two ways of looking at Ireland’s economic fortunes. There is a view from the top and a view… Read more »

Against the dark night sky at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico, when Tommie Smith and John Carlos both gave the Black Power salute in the iconic photo, Australian sprinter Peter Norman is easy to miss. As the Star-Spangled Banner played in the thin air, the salute was a very public act of defiance in front… Read more »