Dear Amen, Can you please give me some advice, as to what I should do about my situation? I have been married to my wife for nearly 17 years. For the first 14 years we were very happy. We have two glorious children aged 11 and 8. About three years ago we went through a stressful…
Christmas seen from Calcutta
Anthony Redmond Mother Teresa was being interviewed on a particular occasion on TV and there was a break for advertisements for various inessential, unimportant things. “I see that Christ is needed in television studios,” she muttered. Malcolm Muggeridge said about her, “she sees in each sorrowing, suffering human being neither a body surplus to a population…
Strong views from Down Under
Sean Ryan Anthologies are a great way to be introduced to a writer, as the editor’s job is to highlight the best of the author/columnist/essayist within the pages of a single book. In this case, it is the sermons of Australian Cardinal George Pell, and he has been well served by his editor, Tess Livingstone, who…
Much more to the GPO than just Easter week
J. Anthony Gaughan The GPO is the nerve centre of our postal system. That system can be traced back to the political and military turmoil of the 16th and 17th centuries when communication became vital to the English policy of aggrandisement in Ireland. Then in the 1640s, Evan Vaughan, the postmaster in Dublin, established a staging system along the…
The varied voices of Irish opinion
Periodicals and Journalism in Twentieth-Century Ireland ed. by Mark O’Brien and Felix M. Larkin (Four Courts Press, €55.00/£43.70)
Church figures, politicians and honesty
Dear Editor, Politicians often speak from both corners of their mouths. Church figures who adopt this practice are confusing their role with that of a politician. Though not conducive to a quiet life, their duty is to promote Church teaching, in and out of season, not to conceal it. To adopt the practice of politicians…
No compromise on confidentiality
Dear Editor, The suspension by the Samaritans of their Samaritans Twitter App on the grounds of invasion of peoples’ privacy, is to be welcomed. The introduction of this app is very disconcerting as the core value of Samaritans is advertised as caller confidentiality. The Samaritans remain a very important and necessary service in Irish society. As…
No rebuke on synod necessary
Dear Editor, An article in the issue of November 6 (‘Archbishop slams synod’s critics’) suggests that Fr Vincent Twomey was the target of a “thinly veiled” public rebuke by Archbishop Diarmuid Martin in relation to the recent Extraordinary Synod. If this was the case then the archbishop was unaware of the broad scope of Fr…
Bishops should look to scripture for guidance
Dear Editor, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin’s reaction (‘Archbishop slams synod’s critics’ IC 06/11/2014) to the published comments of “some commentators within Church circles” who allege that the Synod on the Family cause confusion is revealing. “A longing for certainties” he says “may spring from personal uncertainties rather than strong faith”. This may be true but what of…
Values – Leadership – Change: Messages from Céifin
ed. Harry Bohan and Brian Callanan (Veritas, €9.99/£8.49)

Courtney McGrail