Courtney McGrailDear Editor, I write as we mark Coeliac Awareness Week. Five years on from diagnosis, I could recount several episodes where I have returned from Mass exasperated and wondering how more complicated sharing in Holy Communion can get. Many queries and letters later, I am perplexed as to why there cannot be agreement and clarity…
Month: May 2016
Swedish law on prostitution informed by radical feminism
Dear Editor, In her article on Amnesty International’s stance on prostitution (IC 05/05/2016) Breda O’Brien mentions the Swedish prostitution law of 1999 which has been copied in certain other jurisdictions including our own. The key features of the Swedish law are, first, that it criminalises the purchase of sex but, second, it effectively liberalises its sale…
Governance of new hospital
Dear Editor, I may be wrong on this but my recollection is that two years or so ago, the Theological Institute of the Jesuits in Milltown, Dublin was transferred to Trinity College. Inevitably, the college authorities required that the governance of the new faculty should rest in the hands of the college. That seems fair…
Papal medal for Drumconrath’s Larry Ward
Mags GarganLarry Ward was awarded the Bene Merenti medal for over 40 years dedicated service as organist and choir master in Drumconrath, Co. Meath, at a presentation in a packed church of family and well-wishers. Larry was accompanied by his wife Attracta and daughter Sarah Jane for this special ceremony which was concelebrated in Ss Peter…
UN must halt ‘frontal assault on human rights’ – Knights
The United Nations has a crucial role to play in securing the future of the Middle East, particularly for people being tortured, kidnapped and killed because of their religious beliefs, the CEO of the Knights of Columbus said at a day-long UN conference part-sponsored by the Vatican. Speaking at the April 28 conference, sponsored by…
US ambassador ‘advancing LGBT agenda’
A bishop in the Dominican Republic has accusing the US ambassador to the Caribbean country of abusing his position to advance “the LGBT agenda”. Bishop Victor Masalles, auxiliary bishop of Santo Domingo, believes Ambassador James Brewster is engaging in what Pope Francis has called “cultural imperialism” and “ideological colonisation”, using western money and power to…
The men who keep the country going… just about
Lord of the Files: Working for the Government, An Anthology edited by Michael Mulreany and Denis O’Brien, revised edition (Institute of Public Administration, €35.00)
Academics argue as Poland faces up to abortion crux
It was probably unsurprising that an April 19 open letter sent to Poland’s bishops from 100 female theologians and others has ruffled feathers online, given it begins with an assurance that its signatories “are Catholics who respect the Church’s moral stance against abortion” but argues that in certain circumstances they “believe that access to early,…
The nuns who mapped the stars
“Up until recently, the women were no more than nameless nuns whose image has long been preserved in a black and white photograph… now their identities have been pulled out of obscurity”, writes Carol Glatz
The role of humour and human values
Brendan O’Regan“Endearing humour combined with emotional intensity were the distinguishing features of The ‘A’ Word” which for Brendan O’Regan made this, “one of the best dramas I’ve seen this year so far”