Dear Editor, The confirmation from the Taoiseach that Pope Francis looks set to visit Ireland in 2018 for the World Meeting of Families is immensely heartening, even if it’s difficult to imagine what Pope Francis thought of his meeting with Mr Kenny. Five years ago the Taoiseach made a brief global name for himself through…
Courtney McGrail
Bemoaning the US presidential election
Dear Editor, I recently heard Fr Gerry O’Hanlon SJ on radio saying how dismayed he was at the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States. The only alternative was Hillary Clinton. Does Fr Hanlon not know about her involvement in the destruction of Libya or the destruction of unborn life with Planned…
Christians tells of torture and crucifixion at hands of ISIS
More details of the horrendous suffering of Christians at the hands of so-called Islamic State (ISIS) in Iraq have been released. World Watch Monitor, which examines anti-Christian persecution worldwide, has reported on cases of torture and crucifixion carried out by members of the terror group. Among testimonies gathered is that of Karlus, a 29-year-old who…
Vatican Roundup
More prelates intervene in Amoris Laetitia row The row centred on the Pope’s encyclical on the family, Amoris Laetitia, rumbles on. Following last week’s intervention by four cardinals seeking to question Pope Francis’ knowledge of Church teaching on the family, and the rebuke by the Pontiff and a subsequent invitation from Cardinal Blase Cupich of…
Scorcese’s Jesuit epic screens at the Vatican
The historical religious drama Silence has been screened at the Vatican. In the company of legendary director Martin Scorcese, some 400 priests and invited guests attended the screening at the Pontifical Oriental Institute for the Jesuits on November 29. Based on the novel of the same name by Japanese author Shūsaku Endō, Silence follows the…
Abortion rate at historic low in the United States
The abortion rate in the US is at its lowest level since before the 1973 Roe v Wade Supreme Court decision to broaden access to terminations, latest figures reveal. In its ‘surveillance report’ to the year 2013, the nation’s Centres for Disease Control (CDC) reveals that 47 states have experienced a 20% drop in terminations…
We need to find solutions for our under-pressure priests
Dear Editor, Greg Daly’s article, ‘Priests at risk: problems and practicalities’ (IC 24/22/2016), made for grim reading, as he quoted Fr Brendan Hoban at the Association of Catholic Priests’ annual conference, stating that he had no solution to the “depression and despair of priests”. As a practising Catholic I think we need to find solutions…
The question of women priests
Dear Editor, Once more, the question of women priests in the Catholic Church has arisen (‘Green Party chief rejects Pope on women priests’ IC 20/11/2016). We still proclaim at Sunday Mass that the Church has four marks: she is one, holy, Catholic and apostolic. Why do we believe this? Because at the Last Supper, Christ…
Remembering the dead this November
Finola Kennedy November is the month of the Holy Souls. It is a time when we pray for the dead, and many visit the graves of their loved ones. But cemeteries attract visitors for other reasons too. A cemetery might seem an unlikely tourist attraction but Glasnevin has been drawing increasing numbers especially following Aoife…
Christian governor faces Indonesia blasphemy trial
The Christian governor of Jakarta, Indonesia, is to face trial for alleged blasphemy against Islam. Basuki Purnama Tjahaja, often referred to a ‘Ahok’, fell foul of hardline Muslims in September when, during a political rally, he reportedly quoted the Koran’s 51st Surah which warns followers against voting for a leader of a different faith and…