Mags GarganReligious sisters have provided “inspirational” insight into the “power of faith in Ireland” to a group of young women who completed a tour of Irish convents last week. The Rise of the Roses, a new movement aimed to support and inspire young women as they explore and discern their vocations in life, ended a 10-convent…
Month: August 2015
Words work strongly to shape attitudes
Fr Ronald RolheiserJust because something is politically-correct doesn’t mean that it might not also be correct. Sometimes we have to swallow hard to accept truth. Some years ago, I served on a priests’ council, an advisory board to the bishop in a Roman Catholic diocese. The bishop, while strongly conservative by temperament, was a deeply-principled man who…
Religious could donate buildings to house homeless
Courtney McGrailDear Editor, Heartbreaking events dominate our news now. Homelessness for families in Irish cities, likewise homelessness for thousands of refugees fleeing war and violence in their own countries, many dying on their journeys. May I suggest a way which we Irish people could help? Some years ago, Sister Stan, founder of Focus Ireland, persuaded her…
New catechetical structures must be set up
Dear Editor, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin has warned that the Church in Ireland will only have a future if a new generation of “strong and articulate” lay people can make their voices heard (IC 30/07/2015). For that to happen we need to know our Faith, more so now than in the past, when society generally was…
Unrepentant Fenian or reluctant Redmondite
Dear Editor, The picture on your front page (IC 06/08/2015) of Fr Robert McCabe honouring the “unrepentant Fenian” raises a question for at least one reader. According to reports, O’Donovan Rossa in his later years was converted from dynamite to dialogue, embracing constitutionalism as a reluctant Redmondite. His lapse into peaceful means is explained by…
Government penalises married couples
Dear Editor, It is good to see Prof. Ray Kinsella speaking about the breakdown of the family as those who have a duty, the authority and also the means to speak in defence of the family have been silent (IC 06/08/2015). His accusation that the tax system (re tax individualisation) is leading to family breakdown…
God loves us all equally
Dear Editor, In relation to the article ‘Not in my name’ in the July 30th issue, Niall Guinan seems a lovely young man. He pointed out that Catholics who voted ‘yes’ in the marriage referendum were not out to destroy the foundation of society. The Catholics who voted ‘no’ were not out to discriminate against…
Actions will speak louder than words
Paul KeenanHow much worse would the migrant crisis be without the Church, asks Paul Keenan
Catholics are ‘obliged’ to welcome migrants – UN
Cathal BarryCatholics have a responsibility to offer “sanctuary and welcome” to asylum seekers fleeing war-torn parts of the world, the United Nation’s special envoy on migration has said. Speaking at this year’s novena at Knock, Peter Sutherland insisted there is “no room for ambiguity, let alone opposition amongst Christians, to the phenomenon of migration”. “Apart from…
‘Home’ is where we feel closest to God
Mary Ann O’Driscoll’s short life was a life distinguished by Gospel service, says Fr Thomas Casey SJ