Does Sadlier really believe his teachings will lead to sexual nirvana? David Quinn asks The programme opens with a shot of a cross and the presenter informing us: “As a predominantly Catholic country, Ireland always had a complicated relationship with sex and sexuality.” Immediately, there is a problem with the narrative. It is predictable, cliched,…
Depending on your point of view, the Irish family is either becoming more ‘diverse’, which is apparently a good thing, or instead we have more family breakdown, which is obviously a bad thing, generally speaking.
The portrayal of priests and nuns in ‘The Woman in the Wall’ is unfair and unjust, writes David Quinn There was a time when Catholic priests and nuns were depicted as kindly, charitable figures. Think of Bing Crosby as Fr Charles ‘Chuck’ O’Malley in Going My Way, or the Fr Brown mysteries by GK Chesterton which…
Once again, reputation protection was deemed more important than victims and survivors, writes David Quinn This week, nurse Lucy Letby found out that she will spend the rest of her life behind bars. She was found guilty of the murder of seven babies in her care at the Countess of Chester hospital in Britain. She…
The Church understands that demonic possession is very rare, writes David Quinn The most famous horror movie ever made is probably The Exorcist, which was released in 1973 causing a worldwide sensation and drawing huge crowds to watch it. The director of the movie, William Friedkin, died last week aged 87. Mr Friedkin himself was…
Why is the Government funding IVF and not pro-life alternatives, writes David Quinn Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has announced that the State will pay couples for a full cycle of IVF under a new scheme to be introduced in September. This is a response to the growing problem of infertility in Ireland, a problem that…
The core of Catholic moral theology is under severe pressure from quarters within the Church itself, writes David Quinn The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is one of the most important offices in the Vatican and in the Church worldwide. Its most famous recent prefect was Joseph Ratzinger. He was appointed in…
There was a time when social policy was very strongly influenced by Catholic teaching. Now the opposite is often the case. It is a classic example of the pendulum swinging first one way and then the other. But when the Church had a great deal of influence in the country it was for a reason;…
What should we think about so-called ‘Citizens’ Assemblies’? They seem to be a favourite tool of the Government to nudge public opinion in a desired direction, to expose them to particular expert views and then win the backing of delegates for whatever policy the Government appears to have in mind before these assemblies even begin.…
A special Oireachtas committee on ‘assisted dying’ has been holding public hearings for the last four weeks. The task before it is to consider whether or not Ireland should introduce assisted suicide for people who are terminally ill and nearing the end of their lives. It is clear from listening to the members of the committee,…