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…
Sr Mary Fagan The beautiful story of creation is recounted to us in Genesis, the first book of the Bible, not as a detailed and accurate description of how God made the world, but to advise humankind of the consequences and the responsibilities of God’s first revelation. The wonder and beauty of God’s creation has…
Joe Carroll The Supreme Court. The judges, the decisions, the rifts and the rivalries that have shaped Ireland by Ruadhán Mac Cormaic (Penguin Ireland, €27.99) “We are the Supreme Court and under God we can do anything,” a judge of the court, Cecil Lavery, rebuked a young barrister who had the nerve to tell the…
J. Anthony Gaughan He was Galway: Máirtín Mór McDonogh, 1860 -1934, by Jackie Uí Chionna (Open Air/Four Courts Press, €19.95). This is a valuable biography of a truly remarkable person. The book’s title does not exaggerate. Máirtín Mór McDonogh (1860–1934) was a central figure in the civic life of Galway city and county for most…
Fr Bryan Shortall Christian faith can rest with the youngest and oldest among us, Fr Bryan Shortall explains. Talk about ‘out of the mouths of babes’. I was over with some parishioners who had been recently bereaved and we were to plan the funeral liturgy. Naturally there was sadness in the household as they were…
Michelle Burke Michelle Burke reflects on the annual Youth 2000 Christmas Retreat Amid the hustle and bustle of Christmas preparations, over 800 young people gather to prepare themselves spiritually for Christ’s coming. The annual retreat,organised by Youth 2000 in Newbridge Co. Kildare, draws hundreds of young people between 16 to 35 from all over Ireland…