The pioneering political theorist’s warnings about the inequities of capitalism are still relevant and will not be erased by the defacing of his tomb, writes

There is scarcely a country in this world that has suffered more oppressively and horrendously, and been morally corrupted so egregiously under the tyranny of the Papacy than Ireland.

I’m well aware that when a columnist scrawls the words ‘Open Letter’ across one of his or her efforts, it’s a tacit acknowledgement of defeat.

Decorating a Christmas tree for the first time? From history and family traditions to interior trends and home-made baubles, Caomhan Keane has all you need to know

Esther McCarthy speaks to film director and producer Maurice Fitzpatrick about his documentary on Northern Ireland peace campaigner John Hume

TP O’Mahony looks at the legacy of the great reformer, Martin Luther, who, on October 31, 1517, nailed his 95 theses to the door of a church in Germany 

History, or at least one version of it, suggests that tomorrow week— October 31— we should remember that date as the 500th anniversary of the day Martin Luther nailed his ninety-five theses to the door of All Saints’ Church in Wittenberg, Germany.

As the 500th anniversary of Luther’s ‘95 Theses’ approaches, Josephine Fenton is persuaded that this brave man of the Reformation should be celebrated

The Shortest History of Germany by James Hawes Old Street Publishing Review: Des Breen

Martin Luther shattered the notion of universal or objective truth. ‘I’ was placed at the centre of the cosmos, undermining all hierarchy, writes Gerard Howlin

An incident I observed at a GAA event a few months ago reminded me of a practice I had heard about but never witnessed, writes Paddy Heaney.

In her new book, Ayaan Hirsi Ali breaks with centuries of political orthodoxy and says Islam must adapt and divorce itself from acts of terrorism. TP O’Mahony reports

Six months after staggering through college, and confused as to my future prospects, I took a working post in southern Sweden. 

A 300km cycle might not be everybody’s idea of a fun holiday, but it allowed Richard Herriott to experience the best that the often overlooked eastern Germany has to offer.

The pope has permanently removed a German bishop from his Limburg diocese after his lavish €31m new residence complex caused an uproar.

The Pope has temporarily expelled a German bishop after a €30m scandal over the cost of a new residence, but he refused to remove him.

A German bishop under fire for heavy spending is in Rome for talks at the Vatican, placing his future in the hands of a Pope who has espoused a simple lifestyle.

THE Constitutional Convention’s recommendation in favour of a referendum on same-sex marriage is, while not unexpected, apparently revolutionary.

The financial regulatory framework is only “half-built and not safe” and weak banks remain a drag on growth, according to the IMF managing director, Christine Lagarde.

OH HAPPY day of sloth spent in masticating excess.

The long white document, stuck with blu-tack to the glass doors of the soaring office block that is the European Central Bank, greeted the mandarins of the euro when they arrived for work.

I thought that on the anniversary of the excommunication of Martin Luther it would be a good time for me to add my tupennyworth regarding the silencing of dissent amongst Irish clergy by the Vatican.

Ernest Blythe was the Fine Gael (or Cumann na nGael) Minister for Finance in 1923.

A fledgling church that openly backs President Hugo Chavez is raising the ire of Venezuela’s Roman Catholic hierarchy.

German-born Pope Benedict XVI begins an emotional, six-day homecoming to his birthplace and the city where he served as a priest and bishop today.

AS history shows, few issues have greater potential to cause division and strife among the people of the world than the vexed question of religion.

THEY’VE plotted and deceived, they’ve been warlike, corrupt and power-hungry and they’ve sired children they shamelessly promoted: the history of popes, as cardinals mull who will succeed John Paul II, is decidedly murky.

HELICOPTERS ferried sandbags to plug the crumbling dikes of flooding rivers in eastern Germany yesterday, as workers scrambled to protect a huge chemical complex and towns such as Wittenberg, once the home of religious reformer Martin Luther.

Thousands of workers continued to fight devastating floods in central Europe today as the death toll from the disaster rose to at least 105.