Is consent alone, however defined, ever enough to make a sexual encounter moral, asks David Quinn A sexual consent programme has been launched that is aimed at second level schools. It has been developed by the ‘Active Consent’ unit at NUI Galway and will include workshops for students and parents. The programme is aimed at…
If we think we can make the world a better place, standing on the side-lines is not an option, writes David Quinn In the science fiction series, Star Trek, there is something called the ‘Prime Directive’. It instructs that no contact should be made with another civilisation until it has reached a certain level of…
Catholics need a constant reminder that the grace of God is greater than our sin, writes David Quinn Sometimes we need to remind ourselves why we are Catholics. We are Catholics because we believe Catholicism is true. We are not Catholics because all Catholics behave well, or because the Church is or is not in…
People are starting to realise that public health is no longer the overwhelming consideration it once was, writes David Quinn To what extent are we morally obliged to follow public health guidance, and does there ever come a point at which we can decide for ourselves that other considerations override that guidance? Ever since March…
On RTE a few days ago, HSE boss, Paul Reid, praised young people for coming forward for vaccinations in such large numbers thereby showing such great solidarity with older people. He linked it to similar acts of solidarity by this age group in recent years. Was he referring to the marriage and abortion referendums of…
Churches must seek to reduce social distancing requirement so that public worship can return to normal as soon as possible, writes David Quinn Public worship was permitted again in Ireland in May. Nowhere else in Europe had stopped people from gathering together for religious worship for so long. But now, as we face into August,…
A much greater threat to the unity of the Church is what is going on in the likes of Germany, writes David Quinn Personally, I do not attend the Latin Mass. I have been to three or four in my adult life, and one of them was a funeral. The others I attended mainly out…
It is doubtful whether a party with the word Christian in the title would even see the light of day in Ireland, writes David Quinn The new leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in Germany is a man named Armin Laschet. He will be unfamiliar to the vast majority of Irish people, but he…
The day might not be far off when protesters invade Irish churches, writes David Quinn Eight Catholic churches in Canada have been burnt by arsonists in the last few weeks and in some cases totally destroyed. Ten churches were vandalised in the province of Alberta on one day alone last week. The attacks are almost…
Jesus instructed his followers to teach all nations, but what about the rest of the Universe, asks David Quinn The United States released a report at the weekend which didn’t attract anything like the attention I thought it would. Maybe because Covid-19 is still dominating the news, and here in Ireland we decided to have…