If we are not willing to be troublemakers, it is no wonder that the secular culture takes no notice of us, writes David Quinn Are we still a Church of risk-takers? I’m not so sure. I think we have become increasingly risk-averse, taking the safe, soft option when choices must be made. We have become…
Return to Mass strikes the right balance between safety and normal life
The lockdown has caused huge damage and it’s simplistic to look at it only in terms of lives saved writes David Quinn Public worship in Ireland is now due to return on June 29, not July 20, as originally planned. It’s still one of the latest dates in Europe even though our outbreak was not…
Taking the nation’s spiritual pulse under lockdown
When the pandemic is finally over, the livelihoods of very many people will be harmed and the damage will be huge, writes David Quinn The pandemic is increasing feelings of anxiety among the population, with a bigger effect on women than men. This has now been confirmed by new data from the Central Statistics Office…
Our bishops are being too cautious when it comes to a return to public Masses
Why did the bishops go even further than the Government required by telling priests aged over 70 to strictly cocoon, asks David Quinn A delegation from the bishops’ conference held an online meeting with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar last week to discuss a return to public Masses. A statement was released by the bishops afterwards. It…
The bishops need to publish a plan for a safe return to Mass
The Church should be lobbying for a swifter return to public worship, writes David Quinn For the first time in the history of Christianity, churches have been closed across much of Europe to public Masses and other religious ceremonies. But the picture varies, and the speed at which public worship is being restored from…
How Christians behaved in the Nazi era
Some Christians will never sacrifice respectability to speak out against what is popular, writes David Quinn The Catholic bishops of Germany have admitted in a new document that they did not do enough to resist the Nazis during the war. The 23-page report says: “Inasmuch as the bishops did not oppose the war with…
We need answers about the failure to protect nursing home residents
It is untenable for the Government to refuse to admit mistakes and we need a public inquiry, writes David Quinn Nursing homes in Ireland, whether private or HSE-run, look after about 30,000 elderly people. That comes to roughly 0.6% of our population. Yet these homes account for around 50% of all Covid-19 related deaths…
The inconvenient truth for the Aussie media: Pell is innocent
Political and ideological biases have often poisoned the facts, writes David Quinn Do you remember the case of Fr Kevin Reynolds? He was the priest RTÉ wrongly accused of fathering a child through rape, one of the most serious allegations you can make against someone. The allegation was made on an edition of Prime…
Appreciating Christianity’s achievements
We shouldn’t take for granted the moral revolution that Christianity started in the world, writes David Quinn Sometimes you read something that really sticks in your mind. Recently I came across one of those facts, namely that the first hospital in Wuhan, the city in China where this coronavirus originated, was founded by an…
North and South both move to liberalise grounds for abortion
With all eyes on the threat of Covid-19, an even greater killer is given more access, writes David Quinn At a time when we are trying desperately to save lives, to the extent of effectively shutting us all in our houses, both parts of this island have just made it easier to deliberately kill…

David Quinn








