We cannot always be self-sufficient nor should we have to be
admin
Words of Mercy and Joy, Pope Francis (Veritas, €4.99/£4.25)
This little booklet assembles some the Popeís orbiter dicta since his election, with comments on the Church, on the sacraments, on Our Lady, on the role of women in the Church, and insightful comments on himself and his earlier experiences as a leader, and how he, as an admitted sinner, has learnt from those experiences. …
Authority guarantees unity in the Church
Dear Editor, I do hope that Fr Gabriel Daly’s attack on Cardinal Levada (IC Letters 12/12/13) will not go unanswered. It is not likely that Cardinal Levada will be reading the letters in your paper. But someone should point out that Fr Gabriel avoided any specific details as to why the cardinal did act as he…
Give lay people a greater role
Dear Editor, How interesting to read in The Irish Catholic on January 2, that the ‘Pope Francis effect’ is credited with a surge in numbers at Christmas Masses over and above figures in previous years, and then to read, on the turn of the page, Editor Michael Kelly’s argument for ‘Finding space for the people…
Defending the Capuchin Day Centre
Dear Editor, How relieved I was when, just ahead of Christmas I read in The Irish Catholic the defence – against the worst intentions of a secular Sunday newspaper – of the work of the Capuchin Day Centre and the entirely unpaid role played by Br Kevin Crowley over many years in providing for the…
Giving without taking
I was saddened to learn that the Capuchin Day Centre had been singled out for criticism by a Sunday newspaper in an apparent attempt to build on the disturbing financial news coming from the Central Remedial Clinic. The mistake made by the paper in question – if it was a mistake – was to assume…
The life and death of a child
Dear Editor, Margaret Nolan wonders (IC 12/12/13) what real criteria psychiatric teams in the Mater Hospital will use in deciding on the life and death of a child in the womb? Now that the ‘Protection’ of Life during Pregnancy Act has gone into law without effective guidelines, the answer appears all too clear: None. Yours…
Dad’s Diary
There are good reasons for hope in 2014
Parish invites people home
A Christmas invitation saw Mass numbers surge in Wexford’s cathedral
Church teaching on sexuality
Dear Editor, The current Vatican survey on the attitude of the People of God to how the Church’s teaching on controversial issues around human sexuality is welcome. There are precious few opportunities within the Church for laypeople, priests and religious to offer their input. I suspect at a higher level, bishops and religious superiors also…