BISHOPS in the North have said that treating drug use as a social, not a criminal issue, can help tackle the substance use crisis here. Ahead of last Thursday’s General Election, the bishops urged voters to press candidates to support drug decriminalisation and the creation of facilities to help addicts. In their Pastoral Reflection, the bishops, headed by All-Ireland […]
COLUMN:Michael Hand- Penny Lane may have saved my bacon
“COME out in the name of the Law” is a phrase I would associate with 1930’s black and white gangster movies. I still shudder with disbelief to think it was addressed to me as a nine-year-old boy. When I was at school in the 1960’s it was considered essential if you were to have any […]
COLUMN:Michael Hand-Don’t worry about what people think
ONE of the most recurrent phrases I heard my mother say when I was young was: “What will the neighbours think?” She often compared me to the children in other people’s families with the assumption that they were better behaved than me. I knew that in most cases they were not. It was a disease in […]
COLUMN: Michael Hand- Epidemic of anxiety in our world
THERE is an epidemic of anxiety in our world today. The majority of people that I see concerning their mental health are struggling with anxiety and looking for a tablet to take it away. Sadly no medication is effective long-term with anxiety. The first thing to say about anxiety is, anxiety is normal and most people […]
COLUMN: Michael Hand- It’s OK to be gay
I WAS speaking with a young man in his twenties recently who is gay and could not accept it; in fact, he said that he hated being gay and regrets that he is not heterosexual. This was not an isolated incident. I have come across quite a few gay people who struggle to accept their sexuality, yet […]
Fermanagh politician meets with cleric at Stormont
A FERMANAGH politician said it was an ‘absolute pleasure’ to meet with one of Ireland’s most recognisable priests during a visit to Stormont. Fermanagh and South Tyrone MLA, Áine Murphy, recently met up with Monghan cleric Fr Martin O’Reilly, during his tour of Parliament Buildings in Belfast. With 30-years of service to the priesthood, Fr […]
COLUMN: Michael Hand- Incensing the priesthood
During my seven years studying for the priesthood at Maynooth Seminary, there were occasions when the powers that be could have questioned the appropriateness of my suitability. Indeed there were several incidents, had they come to light, the authorities would have had good grounds to expel me. But like Al Capone being caught for tax evasion, my […]
Hope and healing key themes at Novena
A HUGE crowd is expected to turn out to Holy Cross Church Lisnaskea and St Mary’s Maguiresbridge later this month for a special St Peregrine Novena of Hope and Healing. Organised by Canon Jimmy McPhillips, the Parish of Aghalurcher is going to host a four-day Novena, which is hoping to give the Fermanagh community some […]
Novena of Hope concludes after nine days
AFTER nine days of prayers and reflection at the Graan Monastery in Enniskillen, the well-attended Novena of Hope concluded on Monday night with a special talk from a leading Irish playwright. Leitrim man Gerry Farrell, who has written a number of popular plays including ‘The Last Prime Minister’, shared his thoughts on faith, prayer and […]
COLUMN: Michael Hand – The Swan Story
I NEVER expected to be on the dating scene in my fifties but after 22 years my marriage ended and I wasn’t cut out for being on my own. I have heard it said that women grieve and men replace, so after a short period of grief I went looking for love. Dances and pubs […]