Dear Editor, I have to disagree with Danny Cusack’s reference to “squandering the pro-life movement for a tawdry triumph” in the election of Donald Trump as US President (Letters, IC 15/12/2016) I also left Amnesty over its campaigning for abortion, the destruction of the most vulnerable and helpless of all, but, if Hillary Clinton had…
Dear Editor, Catholics must always seek to be faithful to the Pope. But irrespective of the teaching in Amoris Laetitia, the Vatican response to Cardinal Burke et al. is a source of scandal. The four simply said “we the undersigned, but also many bishops and priests, have received numerous requests from the faithful of various…
Dear Editor, We have a Pope, a Holy Father who is continuing the process of renewing the Catholic Church and caring for us his Children. In time the intransigent oldies in the hierarchy will, with God’s help be overcome. There are of course many intransigent minds among us lay folk also. So many thoughts run…
Dear Editor, Your recent report inviting applications for the post of Maynooth president concludes: “Applicants to include written permission from bishop or religious superior”. It strikes me that this condition rather narrows down the pool of eligibles, amounting to a virtual veto on some potential contenders. Surely the crisis in our national Church and in Maynooth itself calls…
Dear Editor, Recently I wrote to you about The Ray D’Arcy Show on radio and an interview with Rónán Mullen. I made the point that it was evident where D’Arcy’s sympathies lay on the subject of abortion. Rónán Mullen was simply superb in answering Ray D’Arcy’s points and it was all too clear that Mr…
Dear Editor, So the head of the Catholic Primary Schools Management Association is defending the core role of religion in schools (IC 5/1/2016). But why is this even necessary? Despite the common phrase ‘Church-run’, most Irish schools are in fact ‘Church-owned’, built by parishes on their land. If people want to push the Faith out…
Echoes of the past from the achives Peter Costello reports from the National Archives of Ireland on the release under the 30-year rule of confidential state files from 1986 This week the National Archives released for public inspection State files from 1986 and earlier. This year some files date back to the 1920s, with large…
“Far from emphasising submission, the message I picked up was about not conforming to received ideas. Do what you believe is right. Defend your values. Do not be afraid”, writes Mary Kenny The proposal to remove religion from the core curriculum of primary schools has been greeted by secularists as “a progressive step for Irish…
Echos of the past from the Archives In 1971 a proposal was made by the manager of Muckross House in Killarney that an effort should be made to ensure the return to its place of creation of the manuscript of the Annals of Inisfallen. The book had been created around 1092, with entries from 433…
A male friend of mine has been in a lot of contact with me online recently, we have a lot in common and we are both single. I think there is a spark there, yet when I suggested meeting up he said he was too busy, yet continues to stay in contact with me. I…
Peter Costello
Mary Kenny
Wendy Grace