Each of us will soon have the opportunity to vote on whether or not to remove an amendment to the Irish Constitution that defends the right to life of unborn children. There is no point in beating around the bush: a vote to remove this protection from unborn children will be a vote for abortion.…
A barrister has lodged High Court proceedings against Health Minister Simon Harris TD and Senator Catherine Noone over tweets he has described as defamatory. Benedict Ó Floinn BL claims that following a panel discussion on RTÉ Radio’s Saturday with Cormac Ó hEadhra the politicians tweeted comments that were defamatory, disparaging and damaging to his professional…
The second anniversary of the death of the young Derry nun, Sr Clare Crockett, who died in an earthquake in Ecuador, was marked this month with the release of a film about her remarkable life. The 33-year-old Servant Sister died when the school building she was in collapsed on April 16, 2016, but her positive…
Ecuadorian bishops have expressed their “deep concern” and “sorrow” at the killing of two journalists and their driver who were kidnapped after crossing their country’s border into Colombia. A statement from the Ecuadorian Episcopal Conference has called for an end to violence and injustice by armed political and social groups following the “violent murder” of the team of…
Lebanese Cardinal Bechara Rai appealed to world leaders to stop the war in Syria and to work for comprehensive peace through diplomatic means. “As the great powers are beating the drums of a new war against Syria, we regret the absence of a language of peace from the mouths of senior officials in our world…
A new Government natality initiative to increase birth rates to curb the increasing economic demands resulting from Ireland’s ageing population has been criticised as being ‘inconsistent’ with the removal of the Eighth Amendment, a pro-life group has said. The initiative, led by Minister for Children Katherine Zappone, plans to look at ways of encouraging families…
Win: Proven Strategies for Success in Sport, Life, and Mental Health by Brent Pope and Jason Brennan (Hachette Ireland, €16) Peter Hegarty ‘What’s wrong friend?’ said the Samaritans volunteer at the other end of the line. Brent Pope poured out his sadness, describing how low, helpless and lonely he had been feeling. Since his childhood he…
Citing “alarming concerns” related to an ongoing investigation, Cardinal Thomas Collins of Toronto has joined bishops from other dioceses across Canada in withholding funds from the overseas development agency of the Canadian bishops’ conference. At least eight dioceses have suspended financial support to Development and Peace following preliminary results of a probe that found some…
A pro-life group has begun a new online campaign called “12 weeks” to inform the electorate about the humanity of the unborn in preparation for the upcoming May referendum to remove the Eighth Amendment. Save the 8th will show social media users a video of a scan of an unborn baby at 12 weeks gestation…
Judging Redmond and Carson: comparative Irish lives by Alvin Jackson (Royal Irish Academy, €30) Felix M. Larkin This dual biography by one of Ireland’s most distinguished historians, Professor Alvin Jackson of Edinburgh University, is premised on the notion that – to quote its author – “the parallel lives of great rivals or great antagonists (or great friends)…