The decision to invite Scotland’s First Minister of State to speak at a major lecture focusing on Catholic education was defended by a native bishop following criticism from pro-life advocates. The 2019 Cardinal Winning Lecture is held after Catholic education week each year, however this year marks the Centenary of the Catholic Education Scotland Act…
The View It is easy to become despondent given that our political system is contemplating removing rights for the vulnerable and helpless from our Constitution. A clause that protects both mother and baby is now somehow re-classified as discriminatory in a way that is reminiscent of Orwell’s dark masterpiece, Animal Farm, where Squealer can…
Bishop Donal McKeown has said that experiencing narratives of victimhood and hopelessness during a recent trip to the Holy Land reminded him of ministering in Belfast during the civil conflict in the North. The Bishop of Derry was speaking on his return from the Holy Land where he was part of the annual ‘Holy Land…
“Bold steps” are needed before Ireland closes the gap between its climate change commitments and its performance, overseas development charity Trócaire said following the release of an embarrassing government memo. Supporting bills that encourage divestment from fossil fuels and the banning of their extraction will see Ireland move from “laggard to leader” according to the…
To do away with the constitutional protection for the unborn would merely heap injustice upon injustice, writes David Quinn The Kerry babies scandal happened a year after the passage of the 1983 pro-life referendum which enshrined the right of life of the unborn in the Constitution. This has to be kept in mind in…
Church leaders in South Sudan and Congo wonder if they have laboured in vain because too often their own people are waging war against each other, a Sudanese priest said during a meeting of hundreds of men and women from dozens of religious orders. The root of the conflict, Fr Maurice Ibiko said, is “the…
All faiths must protect Jerusalem’s current status Christians, Muslims and Jews who are sincere about their faith must be committed to protecting the special character of Jerusalem and to praying and working for peace in the Holy Land, Pope Francis wrote in a letter to the grand imam of Egypt’s al-Azhar University. Only a special, internationally guaranteed statute on the status…
Picturing the Apocalypse: The Book of Revelation in the Arts over Two Millennia by Natasha O’Hear & Anthony O’Hear (Oxford University Press, £12.99) The other week a false alarm over an incoming ballistic missile (presumably from North Korea and armed with a nuclear warhead) scared the inhabitants of Hawaii witless. Fleeing the beach in minutes, they…
A leading theologian has rejected claims that Catholics are significantly over-represented among trainee primary teachers. The claim follows research from NUI Galway’s School of Education, which found that 90% of surveyed respondents who entered Irish primary teacher education programmes identified as Catholic, with just under half of these attending religious services at least once a…
Fall Out: A Year of Political Mayhem by Tim Shipman (William Collins, £25) Peter Hegarty This year will test Theresa May. She must somehow get a good deal for Britain, the weaker negotiating partner, in talks with an increasingly assertive EU. In an impeccably-sourced account of her premiership Tim Shipman, the political editor of the Sunday…
Breda O'Brien
Susan Gately
Chai Brady
David Quinn
Peter Costello