About RTÉ Religious Programmes

Mary Kennedy

Throughout the year, RTÉ Religious Programmes seek to reflect the full diversity of religious practice and experience in Ireland. Through a mixture of outside broadcasts and Masses and Services from the RTÉ studios in Dublin, we aim to include Christian worship from different communities and denominations all over the country. We also hope to mark at least some of the significant festivals of other faiths and to reflect their place in today's Ireland.

If you have comments on the site or would like to contact me. I'm the Editor of RTE Religious Programmes and can be reached at roger.childs@rte.ie or on +353 1 208 4586.

On Sunday 5th February, at 11.15am, our live televised Mass marks the end of Catholic Schools Week and the 175th anniversary of the foundation of St Patrick's College, Thurles. The Celebrant is Fr Tom Fogarty, College President, and the Director of Music is Geraldine Delaney.

If you don't manage to catch it live, it will be accessible on this site from Monday 6th February, and on the RTÉ Player: www.rte.ie/player

Later, that evening, we have a real treat, as Gay Byrne interviews the original Boomtown Rat, Bob Geldof, about THE MEANING OF LIFE, at 1030pm, on RTÉ One.

Geldof, who turned 60 in October, tells Gay that rage remains his "great animus", but much to his own surprise, admits to being happy these days - something he attributes, quite simply, to love. He doesn't believe in God, or even a "God-shaped hole", but he explains with all his usual colourful, profane brilliance, how his life has shaped his beliefs and values... and vice versa.

If you missed previous episodes of THE MEANING OF LIFE, you can access them on the RTÉ Player or on our own website: www.rte.ie/tv/meaningoflife

Next week, in the final episode, at the usual time of 1030pm, Gay enjoys an "access all areas" conversation with Mary Byrne.

This week, on THE GOD SLOT (10pm Fridays, RTÉ Radio One), Eileen Dunne talks to possibly the world's leading Vatican watcher, the National Catholic Reporter's John L. Allen, about next week’s ‘Symposium for Catholic Bishops and Religious Superiors on Sexual Abuse of Minors’, to be held in Rome.

Communications and Media Officer for Christian Aid, Florence Mutesasira talks about the delights of Gospel Music and treats us to some samples.

And Barry McMillan, our regular film critic, reviews the controversial Michael Fassbender movie ‘Shame’.

You can also catch up with recent episodes of The God Slot, by clicking here: http://www.rte.ie/radio1/thegodslot/

If there are subjects you'd like Eileen to cover or stories you'd like to share, do, please email the producer, Gerry McArdle, at godslot@rte.ie or call him on +353 (0)1 208 2039.

WOULD YOU BELIEVE? recently finished its current run with the second of Reporter Mick Peelo's two Specials about the state and future of the Catholic Church in Ireland: Back To The Future.

Having spent twenty years mapping the state of belief in Ireland, Mick asked, in the first episode, if the embattled Catholic Church could survive at all. He found signs of hope in some unexpected places, among the grass roots faithful in Killaloe and Dublin. And yet still there was little evidence of young people engaging with the Church.

By contrast, in the second film, he visited a cluster of parishes around Lucan, where there seems to be no shortage of young people in the pews. The big question is more what they think it means to be Catholic.

Mick discovered many young parents still choose to present their children for Catholic sacraments - baptism, communion, and confirmation - but they do so more out of habit and a sense of cultural identity than because of a commitment to the faith.

So, has the atom been split between belonging and belief? If so, is it time the Church started turning away people who want to be members, but fail the test of faith? The way that question is answered could determine the future of Catholicism in Ireland.

If you missed the series, you can catch up by clicking on the WYB? icon to the right where you will find a full list of "Video Archive."

And if there are stories you would like to share with us for Would You Believe?, please contact me via email: roger.childs@rte.ie

Joe Duffy's Spirit Level has now finished, but you can catch up with all of the last series by clicking on its icon, to the right or by clicking here: www.rte.ie/tv/spiritlevel

Keep an eye out, too, for iWitness, our nightly reflection slot, which tries to capture the spirit of today's ireland, one voice and one spirit at a time. These are archived for 21 days on the RTE Player: www.rte.ie/player

Since September 2009, we have been showing a new version of The Angelus. A uniquely Irish broadcasting tradition, the Angelus chimes have been broadcast by RTE since 1950. What may have started as a pause for Christian prayer is now valued by people of many faiths and none as a welcome moment for reflection and peace in the flurry of contemporary life. We hope that our seven short films reflect that, offering snapshots of people finding space to "Go placidly amidst the noise..." in today's Ireland. See for yourself, by clicking on this link: http://www.rte.ie/tv/angelus/index.html