Italian property tax may force schools to close

An Italian archbishop has warned Church-owned schools will close if the government forces them to pay property taxes worth around €100,000. Responding to a call from Ferrara’s mayor Tiziano Tagliani to pay retroactive property taxes on schools that charge a partial tuition fee, on the basis that this could be considered a “commercial activity”, Ferrara-Comacchio’s…

Philippine bishops delay response to attack

The Philippines’ Catholic Bishops’ Conference has prepared a response to an attack on the Philippine Church by president-elect Rodrigo Duterte, but has decided not to publish it until after his presidential inauguration on June 30. The bishops’ response has been prepared against a background of apprehension that Mr Duterte’s accession to the presidency may see…

Huge research deficit on issue of Catholic education

Dear Editor, These days our bishops and educationists are again circling the wagons against the encroachment of ‘faith-neutral’ models of religious education in Catholic schools. So, for example, we hear Dr Eugene Duffy of St Mary Immaculate College, Limerick, insisting that: “Parents, if they’re sending their children to a faith-based school, will have a genuine…

Disorder and disrespect at services

Dear Editor, I found myself in church, quite accidentally, on a Saturday afternoon at a baptism ceremony. It was conducted by an elderly priest, for whom I had great sympathy. Why? The atmosphere in the church was anything but quiet and respectful. There was widespread talking and giggling, children running around through the seats, even…

Church should lead way to help refugees

Dear Editor, With the news that over 700 more refugees have drowned in the Mediterranean Sea, and the Irish Government is still doing nothing meaningful to confront the horrors that are taking place before our very eyes, the hierarchy of the Catholic Church, together with the superiors of the religious orders, must follow Pope Francis…

Any previous will is revoked by marriage

Dear Editor, Mags Gargan’s article on wills (IC 19/05/2016) was timely and valuable. However, she missed what is possibly one of the most important points in relation to making a will. Any previous will is revoked by marriage, unless it is specifically made in contemplation of that marriage. So readers who are engaged (or those…

Lack of judgement on lead story

Dear Editor, What a strange lapse of judgement to give the front page of your edition of May 26 to such a distasteful report (‘Inappropriate’ behaviour claim robustly dealt with – Maynooth).  An anonymous letter to the bishops’ conference alleging a gay culture in our national seminary hardly merits a mention let alone a tabloid-style front…