Everyday Ethics

Lord Eames looks back on being a Bishop for 50 years.

Professor Niobe Way on the challenges facing teenage boys.

Father Brian D’Arcy turns 80 today. He’s Ireland's best known priest, a journalist, a broadcaster, and someone who has never shied away from speaking his true feelings about some of the most important religious, political and social issues.

Brian sat down with Audrey Carville to talk about love and loneliness, look back at some the moments that changed the course of his life, what happened after he spoke out against clerical abuse on The Late Late Show, how he’s not afraid of dying, and his biggest regret … going home instead of staying an extra day in Vegas to meet Elvis!

After 19 years, the Stormont government finally has an anti-poverty strategy.

What relevance does an event which took place 1700 years ago this week have for people today?

The event was the gathering of the Council of Nicea- a meeting of Christian bishops by the Roman Emperor Constantine the First. It met in what is now the Turkish city of Iznik from May until the end of July. It was an ecumenical meeting - the first of many to achieve agreement among all the branches of Christianity and it was as much political as it was religious

Its most significant achievement at the time was the agreement on the wording of a Creed - something which many Christians still say during their services today.

So why does any of this matter in 2025 and does the wording of that Creed still hold true in today's world?

Special episode from Rome on the election of Pope Leo XIV.

Pope Francis is dead. The throne is vacant. The voting will soon begin. What does the death of Pope Francis mean for the Catholic church at home and abroad? What will be the big issues facing the cardinals, who will soon gather for the papal conclave?

Audrey Carville hears from the former Irish President Dr Mary McAleese about Pope Francis and the challenges for his successor. Former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar reflects on Pope Francis’s visit to Ireland in 2018 and the reframing of the relationship between the State and the Church.

And, Dr Nicola Brady (general secretary of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland), Michael Kelly (director of public affairs at the charity Aid to the Church in Need) and leading human rights defender Baroness Nuala O’Loan join Audrey to discuss the issues that could decide who will succeed Pope Francis as leader of Catholicism.

Marie Collins survived the abuse inflicted on her by a Catholic priest in Dublin. Pope Francis appointed her to his Pontifical Commission on the Protection of Minors in 2014 but she resigned from it in 2017. How does she assess how he acted during his papacy? And three expert Vatican observers analyse the enduring legacy of Pope Francis

Is it impossible for a person of faith to navigate their lives without questioning their beliefs? Do the doubters long for the faith of the believers? Is faith the enemy of reason and does certainty come at the expense of rational thought? Audrey Carville will be exploring these questions and more with her guests: theologians Dr Joy Allan and Dr Elaine Storkey, Corrymeela Community leader Rev Dr Alex Wimberly, and Father Martin Magill from St John’s Parish.

Bishop Donal McKeown will be talking about reaching a big milestone. Has President Nixon’s political legacy been unfairly overshadowed by Watergate? And why does Easter Sunday fall on a different date every year, and why have efforts over the years to fix it in the calendar been thwarted?

In a world that seems filled with chaos at the moment, a world where it seems power and money walk hand in hand, is there a space for morality? For ethical choices to be made and conversations be had? Or are we witnessing a moral decline? How can competing moralities co-exist peacefully in increasingly diverse, and politically entrenched, societies? Audrey Carville is joined by Queen's University's Dr Suzanne Whitten, a philosopher, and John Barry, professor of green political economy, and Presbyterian minister Rev Dr Norman Hamilton.

If a doctor or a nurse makes a mistake with your care, or the care of a loved one, you would expect to be told about it. But putting in place a process where there is a duty of candour within the health service is proving extremely difficult. Northern Ireland remains the only part of the UK or Ireland not to have one. The Hyponatraemia inquiry into the deaths of five children in hospital put the focus on the need for it. The inquiry chair Mr Justice O'Hara said some of the witnesses had to have the truth dragged out of them. The health minister says he hopes to introduce one in before the next Assembly election, but why is it so challenging? Audrey Carville is joined by Deirdre Heenan (professor of social policy at Ulster University) and Peter McBride (an independent consultant who has been working with the Department of Health on building a framework for a duty of candour).