The idea of ethos can sometimes be a thorny issue. In a world which often prides a utilitarian approach to education over a holistic vision of the human person, ethos can get reduced to 15 or 20 minutes of religious education every now and then. When one speaks of ethos to politicians, they will often…
Getting in the zone For Boyzone fanatics this will be a dream come true as the boyband celebrates 25 years as a group, and releases what they say will be their final album, ‘Thank You and Goodnight’. The four remaining members – Ronan Keating, Keith Duffy, Mikey Graham and Shane Lynch – have come a long…
The number of priests, religious and lay people being persecuted for spreading the Faith will continue to worsen, missionaries across Ireland have said. While Christians should always remain hopeful, Fr Fachtna O’Driscoll SMA, Superior General of the Society of African Missions, told The Irish Catholic that the number of missionaries being killed globally will continue…
Some people of my generation (born in the 1940s) refer to young folk as “snowflakes”: fragile and likely to dissolve under stress. This is unkind and mostly untrue. Most young people I meet are very nice, thoughtful and idealistic. But, certainly, they have been raised in a gentler and more protective way, and adulthood has…
A forced-adoption subplot in RTÉ’s new drama about the War of Independence is an example of an “astonishing” lack of balance in Irish public debate about historical relations between Church and State, it has been claimed. Stressing the importance of investigating and honestly facing the darker aspects of Church history, Fr Conor McDonough OP lamented…
Large numbers of GPs are not signing up to be part of abortion provision because of the “disdain” they have been shown by Government as well as, or because of, their pro-life stance, according to a Kerry-based general practitioner. So far under 10% of Ireland’s GPs have agreed to perform medical abortions since the legislation…
The View Martin Mansergh While some Christmas carols emphasise the coldness of the season ‘in the bleak mid-winter’, others emphasise the mildness of the infant Jesus. It is difficult to remember 12 days of Christmas that have been so mild and in most parts mainly dry. The first snowdrops were out even before…
A leading theologian has said former Catholic institutions should not keep their names after the Church gives up governance, especially if they ‘violate Catholic teaching’. Almost 1,000 people attended a march to preserve the name of Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, Co. Louth, on Monday after it was discovered there was a proposal…
Families are “scared” of being intimidated and forced out of their homes by paramilitary groups, a well-known priest and peace campaigner has said. Fr Gary Donegan, who is best known for his peacebuilding work in North Belfast’s Ardoyne area, said that paramilitaries who “are involved in activities that are very questionable” are policing their own…
Despite setbacks at the ballot box, the Church must not lose its nerve, writes David Quinn Back in the 1990s, Ruairi Quinn, then Finance Minister, declared Ireland was now ‘post-Catholic’. He said it in the aftermath of the 1995 divorce referendum. He knew that many people still went to Mass. What he meant was…
Michael Kelly
Colm Fitzpatrick
Mary Kenny
Greg Daly
Chai Brady
David Quinn