For many people, Lent is a time to temporarily abstain from chocolate. Is this self-denial pleasing to God? Niall Leahy SJ takes a closer look at the chocolate industry before making up his mind.

Those caught in this situation are often too unwell to stand trial, condemned to spend an indeterminate time in an overcrowded prison. Prisons, which have a deleterious effect on those with stable mental health, exacerbate the rapid fraying of a person’s mind. It is not too much to draw an equivalence to torture.

In Manchán Magans’ book “99 words for rain (and only one for sun)” he effortlessly evoked the prevailing weather system in Ireland. Rain is one of Irelands defining features and it is responsible for our description as the Emerald Isle. All this to say that we are used to rain in Ireland – but not… Read more »

Colm Fahy was part of the Jesuits for Climate Justice campaign at COP 30 in Brazil. He was impressed by the ethos and commitment of the Irish delegation he met there.

The “veto culture” is often motivated by the desire to seek an easy payout. There is something fundamentally tawdry about this and we should not be ashamed to comment on it. An attitude prevails that if you can extract a little compensation bundle from the government, you would be a fool not to take it.

You have probably seen on social media either ads or people sharing “win a home” posts. They are always the same, usually telling you to like the post and follow the page for more opportunities, possibly “tag 3 friends”, and for “only €100” you could have a chance at winning a house. Awesome, right?! Well…… Read more »

The turning of the year prompts us to look back and look forward. In JCFJ in 2025 we were delighted to deliver a special issue of Working Notes dedicated to marking the 10th anniversary of Pope Francis’ groundbreaking Laudato Si’ and to follow that up with an issue focusing on the ethical and policy dimensions… Read more »

“And the best part, there isn’t any mould!” That is what I was told the last time I was looking for a room to rent. What is worse, is that was the best part. Like many looking for a room/apartment/house for rent, or even to buy, my eyes automatically scan to the corners of the… Read more »

COP30 came to a close two weeks ago, and as usual, there are mixed feelings on whether or not it  serves the purpose it intends to. This year, we had the privilege of hearing about COP from the ground from Filipe Martin SJ (JESC), as well as receiving daily updates from our research fellow, Colm… Read more »

The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage released their newest housing plan, Delivering Homes, Building Communities, last week to much anticipation. While I think it is easy to immediately jump to negativity (I mean, how can you not when you take even the smallest look at where we are right now in the housing… Read more »