The View In recent times, three friends have all told me about people they know who have not been back to Mass in church. They continue to watch online. My friends were both surprised and worried because the people they mentioned were regular Massgoers before the pandemic. Nor had any of the people health concerns…

The View Lack of time prevents me from doing as many talks as I once did (not to mention a worldwide pandemic.) I am not quite sure why I accepted an invitation to speak at the recent Holycross Abbey Novena but I am so glad I did. I was vaguely aware of Holycross Abbey but…

The View Single people have played a very important role in my life, beginning with my much-loved aunt, Kathleen O’Brien, who died at the early age of 71. Kathleen was a fascinating figure to me as a child. She had spent the years of the Second World War in Sweden as, I think, a kind…

The View I missed the movie, Eighth Grade, when it was in cinemas but saw it recently on Netflix. In the US, being in eighth grade is roughly equivalent to second year, a particularly difficult age. Hormones kick in and friendships become complicated. Painful Social media has made being a teenager even more difficult. The protagonist,…

The View A midst the ongoing controversy about whether US President Joe Biden should be excommunicated for his stance on abortion, important points are being missed. There needs to be sustained teaching on the nature of the Eucharist before people will understand excommunication. (This is not to suggest a moratorium on excommunication until all Catholics…

The View Even three years on, many of us are still grieving the repeal of the Eighth Amendment. The grief is not as raw as it once was but it will probably never go away. It is so tempting to give up and to decide that the gulf is unbridgeable. Thankfully, most pro-life activists have settled…