‘The past is not a place to which we would wish to return’: Shannon Campbell on the Unity Pilgrim Resources

In June there was a formal launch of Clonard Monastery’s new ‘Unity Pilgrim’ resources, which are now freely available for use in churches and among young people.

Shannon Campbell, Director of the Catholic Chaplaincy at Queen’s, was the main … Read more...

Learning from Fr Gerry Reynolds and Fr Alec Reid: New Resources for Churches and Young People

The ministries of Fr Gerry Reynolds and Fr Alec Reid, Redemptorists at Clonard Monastery in Belfast, have been recognized as vital to Northern Ireland’s peace process.

Nearly a quarter-century after the Good Friday Agreement, their work of peace remains unfinished … Read more...

Recent posts on Slugger O’Toole: From King Charles III to ‘No Religion’

It has been some time since I posted on this blog. For any faithful followers who still remain, do be aware that I have had several posts on the Slugger O’Toole blog. These include:

Reconciliation: The theme of King Charles’ Read more...

Kroc Institute Lecture: Rethinking the Role of Clergy in Violence and Peacebuilding

Earlier this month, I spoke at the University of Notre Dame’s Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies on ‘Rethinking the Role of Clergy in Violence and Peacebuilding’ (12 April).

The lecture was initiated by the Kroc Institute’s Contending Modernities initiative … Read more...

Fortnight Review of ‘Considering Grace: Presbyterians and the Troubles’ by Claire Mitchell: ‘a gritty and poignant exploration’

Claire Mitchell has reviewed Considering Grace: Presbyterians and the Troubles, by Jamie Yohanis and me, in Northern Ireland’s Fortnight magazine (January 2022 edition). 

Mitchell, a writer based in Belfast and a former sociologist at Queen’s University, calls the book … Read more...

The 4 Corners Festival & the Unfinished Work of Peace: Irish Council of Churches AGM

Last week (31 March) I took part in a panel discussion at the Irish Council of Churches 99th Annual General Meeting at Skainos in East Belfast. The theme of the AGM was ‘The Unfinished Work of Peace’. Church of Ireland … Read more...

John Brewer on his new book, ‘An Advanced Introduction to the Sociology of Peace Process’

In a post first published by Queen’s University, Professor John D. Brewer  reflects on the war in Ukraine by drawing on insights from his new book, An Advanced Introduction to the Sociology of Peace Process (Edward Elgar, 2002).

The paperback Read more...

On Fr Gerry Reynolds and the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

The annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (18-25 January) was always important for Fr Gerry Reynolds (d. 2015). My biography of Fr Gerry, Unity Pilgrim, recounts a number of events during Weeks of Prayer for Christian Unity in Belfast, … Read more...

Online Launch 27 January: The Oxford Handbook of Religion & Europe

The new Oxford Handbook of Religion and Europe (2022), edited by Grace Davie and Lucian Leustean, will be launched online on 27 January at 4 pm (GMT) from Georgetown University’s Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs.

You can Read more...

Presbyterians, Forgiveness, and Dealing with the Past in Northern Ireland: article published in special issue

‘Presbyterians, Forgiveness, and Dealing with the Past in Northern Ireland: Towards Gracious Remembering,’ by Jamie Yohanis and me, has been published in a special issue of Religions, co-edited by Joram Tarusarira and me. 

The article draws on the research … Read more...

My review of Crawford Gribben’s ‘The Rise and Fall of Christian Ireland’, on Slugger

I have a new post on the Slugger O’Toole blog, my review of Crawford Gribben’s excellent new book, The Rise and Fall of Christian Ireland (Oxford, 2021).Read more...