If you want to understand the past, one thing you must do is look to the economic conditions of the time, writes David Quinn Why were attitudes often harsh in the past? Is it because the people then were more horrible than now, and we are far more enlightened, or could it be that social…
Dublin’s new shepherd must continue to acknowledge the negative side of the Church’s recent legacy, while reminding us of the great good the Church has done and still does, writes David Quinn Ireland is one of the most anti-Catholic countries in the Western world. The often authoritarian behaviour of the Church in the past, in…
We look to our own Government to protect us, and if they fail, then we understandably turn on them, writes David Quinn It is not at all clear at this stage when those who want to receive a Covid-19 vaccination will get their wish. It is to be hoped that everyone over the age of…
It would be a failure of moral witness if the Church did not point to policies at odds with the Catholic Faith, writes David Quinn On the morning of his inauguration as president of the United States, Joe Biden attended Mass. He carries a set of rosary beads on him that belonged to his late…
Future historians will find a more nuanced and balanced account of the past than most members of the public have been led to believe, writes David Quinn There have now been three official reports in a row that upset the accepted media narrative about the culpability of the Church concerning their subject matters. The first,…
None of us are served unless we have a debate that is rounded and looks at attitudes in other countries, writes David Quinn Much of the commentary down the years about the mother and baby home has focused on the role the Church played in creating harsh attitudes towards unmarried mothers and their children. The…
Currently, we are not allowed to go to Mass again in the Republic. All public worship is effectively banned. From the end of March last year until the end of June, public worship was called off, and again in places like Donegal and Dublin from September until early December, and in the rest of the…
What we now refer to as the patriarchy was only too well aware of the dangers of toxic masculinity, writes David Quinn A teacher was sacked recently from Eton College in England, the country’s poshest school. His error? To post his ruminations on the topic of the ‘patriarchy’ on the internet and to leave it up…
Some computers can think things through better than the cleverest of people, this has implications, writes David Quinn The big scientific story of the year has, of course, been the development of various vaccines designed to protect us from Covid-19. But longer term perhaps the even bigger one has been the development by a company…
The Church looks benignly at international organisations, but cannot do so uncritically writes David Quinn Is there a Catholic position on the European Union? By that I don’t mean does the Catholic Church believe in the EU or not. I mean is there a position all Catholics must adhere to like we must adhere to…