On Earth Day, the JCFJ joined many other civil society organisations and political parties outside Leinster House, calling on the government to take fairer and faster climate action. The energy crisis is the climate crisis.

Next with St.Stephens Green Trust we saw that restrictions on education in prisons enforces the lack of value we put on human life when they are out of sight, out of mind.

Ultimately though we left asking, why is it people have to wait till they're in prison to receive this chance at education

Our thoughtful contributors included: Anne Costelloe, Helen Nichols, Kevin Warner, Robert Cullen, Katharina Swirak, and Pieter De Witte.

This event was only possible with the generous funding and support of the St. Stephen's Green Trust. /2

Today, we held our "Lessons Never Learned" Education in Prison Workshop with topics on the Council of Europe's revised standards, the current "climate for education" in Irish prisons, the transformative education offered by Inside Out programmes, and the ripple effects to family relationships. /1

"For we know not what we do" our 5th annual lecture started our week of drawing attention to the penal system in Ireland. We cannot just ignore people once they are behind bars.

If you missed the lecture, don't worry we have a recording coming soon 🎥

Thank you for all your interest in our Lecture on Tuesday! Unfortunately, we have reached our venue's capacity and can't accept any more booking requests.

Looking forward to seeing you all there!

We have a fossil fuel problem - Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice in Ireland The fuel protests last week could be viewed as a large-scale ecological experiment to test how resilient our economic and societal ecosystem is.

'The fuel protests last week could be viewed as a large-scale ecological experiment to test the resilience of our economic and societal ecosystem.... The results are in – and they are not reassuring.'

www.jcfj.ie/2026/04/15/w...

How can we advance Justice peace and Care for our common home?

Join our social theologian @kevinhargaden.bsky.social along with speakers from @trocaire.bsky.social, Doughnut economics Network and Ambassador David Donoghue this Saturday.

Register below

docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Sheds, I mean beds, for rent - Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice in Ireland You may have heard talk about planning permissions being waived for homeowners to build standalone or modular units in their back gardens (often informally known as granny flats) up to 45sq.m. in order to increase the amount of available rental units in the country. These types of accommodations are not new and got its colloquial... Read more »

"We invite exploitation through poorly built, glorified sheds that don’t meet standards for health and safety ... at the end of the day, that is what it is—a safety issue."

New blog by @alexiacobrien.bsky.social on no planning permission for modular units in gardens.

www.jcfj.ie/2026/04/09/s...

Every child in Ireland has a right to education but not every child gets a fair chance

The Capacious House of His Wounds: A Good Friday Reflection towards the Peripheries - Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice in Ireland In the days leading up to this Good Friday, I was immersed in re-reading one of my favourite books ever. It is a genuinely undiscovered masterpiece called After Crucifixion by the American theologian,...

For Good Friday, we at JCFJ are thinking about how the path past the cross of Jesus leads us towards those our society wants to forget. www.jcfj.ie/2026/04/03/t...

In advance of our Annual Lecture on April 21st, our guest speaker, Pieter De Witte, was talking with the kind people at Spirit FM this morning.

📻Listen below to get a taster of the lecture📻

www.spiritradio.ie/podcast/piet...

Irish Cycling Campaign Statement on the Fatal Road Traffic Collision in Dublin City Centre on Wed 01 April 2026 Irish Cycling Campaign expresses our sincere condolences on the death of a cyclist, a man in his 20s, in Dublin city centre yesterday (Wed 01 April 2026, just before 1pm). The collision happened at th...

Irish Cycling Campaign Statement on the Fatal Road Traffic Collision in Dublin City Centre on Wed 01 April 2026

www.irishcyclingcampaign.ie/irish-cyclin...

JCFJ Annual Lecture 2026 - Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice in Ireland This year’s paper, “For we know not what we do. Reflections on punishment, community and forgiveness,” will be delivered by Prof. Dr. Pieter De Witte, KU Leuven on Tuesday, 21st April. It promises to ...

Our annual lecture will be held on Tuesday, April 21st.

More details on our website and how to register.
www.jcfj.ie/2026/04/02/j...

A preventable crisis normalised as the Government now seem to publish monthly figures with no comment.

Speaker Bio for Annual Lecture 2026 /n

Abstract for Annual Lecture 2026 /2

***Registration Now Open***
To register for the JCFJ Annual Lecture 2026, please RSVP to info@jcfj.ie

This year's paper - “For we know not what we do. Reflections on punishment, community and forgiveness”- will be delivered by Prof. Dr. Pieter De Witte. 1/

John Grim and Mary Evelyn Tucker from the Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology kick off a day of discussion at the Loyola Institute in TCD, considering the work required on integral ecology today.

Divine Sparks with Áine Lawlor - RTÉ Radio 1 A fresh, engaging and thought-provoking look at religious and spiritual life both in Ireland and overseas. Presented by Áine Lawlor.

I have a short radio essay on Divine Sparks tonight, RTE 1 @ 10PM. I'll be reflecting on the Pope's recent call to political leaders to examine their consciences about war and how this has echoes in 4th century Milan www.rte.ie/radio/radio1...

📅 Save the Date

Prof. Dr Pieter De Witte is a prison chaplain and visiting professor at Leuven. He organises and teaches service-learning courses in Belgian prisons and detention centres, bringing together university and prison-based students to explore the meaning of punishment and detention.

***Save the Date*** Registration will open soon for the JCFJ Annual Lecture 2026.

This year, we welcome Pieter De Witte from KU Leuven with a paper titled "For we know not what we do. Reflections on punishment, community and forgiveness."

Across the city, parents snatch their kids out of the way of red-light-breaking drivers Despite years of talk, a promised national strategy on red-light cameras is yet to be published – let alone implemented.

Across the city, parents snatch their kids out of the way of red-light-breaking drivers. Despite years of talk, a promised national strategy on red-light cameras is yet to be published – let alone implemented.

Irish food is going big and going bust - Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice in Ireland Earlier this month, one of Ireland’s major carrot producers, Hughes Farming, went into administration.

www.jcfj.ie/2026/03/27/i...

How can small growers and producers keep up with Goliath supermarket prices?

Sean McCabe (dialling in from Central Europe) exploring how an unexpected overlap between a soccer club and the Society of Jesus might clear ground for really innovative climate justice initiatives.

I can still be a St Pat's supporter and be very excited that @jcfjustice.bsky.social are working with @bfcdublin.bsky.social on the possibility of developing community wealth building for the northside of Dublin. Sean McCabe here laying out the vision

Homelessness defies the “stereotypical type of person”, it is not someone who does not want to get a job or someone who wastes their money away. They are families, people with multiple jobs, and the elderly.

Register below to join us next week

us02web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

Excellent coverage by @eoinglackin.bsky.social on how poverty intensifies when people are sent to prison - even if they gain prison jobs - leading to hunger, exploitation, much tougher detoxs, and the inability to fulfil small parental roles like gifts.

The Psychiatric Prisoner Paradox - Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice in Ireland Though this ordeal, the State has inflicted immeasurable harm and suffering on Patrick Sibanyoni. There is the immediacy and acuity of the pain from being in prison with a psychiatric illness. There i...

New blog by @keithadams.bsky.social on the absurdist ordeal of Patrick Sibanyoni and the paradox of the psychiatric prisoner.

"... the State objecting to the release of a person from prison for healthcare which the State has failed to provide."
www.jcfj.ie/2026/03/19/t...

@studiesirishreview.bsky.social Spring 2026 is available now. The issue commemorates the Jesuits' formal commitment to social justice as a constituent of faith.

Found at select bookstores and online at studiesirishreview.ie

#socialjustice #jesuits #studies #faith #faithandjustice

In Ireland and across Europe, we are witnessing a “quiet crisis” in how we live together. Policies feel like they are imposed on people; there is a coarsening of how we disagree, and even on a local level, people feel lonelier and more rootless.

Join Us this evening

us02web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...