The blandness of Francis’ speeches in Ireland is mysterious, writes David Quinn   It is now one month since Pope Francis was in Ireland. If you were to conduct a poll and ask people what they remember about the visit, how would they respond? If you asked them what the Pope had to say, I…

Our Christian faith ultimately rests on Christ himself, writes David Quinn   The faith of many Catholics has suffered another battering recently because of the latest eruption of public anger over abuse scandals. In Germany, a report commissioned by the Catholic bishops there shows that over a 70-year period, more than 3,000 priests have been…

Francis is no bringer of ‘doctrinal apocalypse’, writes David Quinn   Pope Francis does not represent the doctrinal apocalypse as some conservatives seem to think. I say that as someone who is himself a conservative and therefore would be quick to ring the alarm bells if I thought a Pope was about to water down…

Francis wants a moral revolution, writes David Quinn   The Gospel reading at Mass last Sunday is one of the most famous. In it, Jesus condemns the Pharisees for burdening people with man-made customs. He tells them (Mark 7:8): “You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions…

Everyone who came away from an encounter with the Pope was uplifted, writes David Quinn   My first reaction to the address by Leo Varadkar to Pope Francis in Dublin Castle was positive but since then it has become a lot less so. Indeed, I think the address, and the reaction of the Government to…

Failures to take hard choices continue to haunt the Church, writes David Quinn   The issue of abuse of children by priests has loomed large over the visit of Pope Francis to Ireland this week, and over the World Meeting of Families, the reason for him being here. The scandals have re-erupted in Chile, Australia…

Ireland still does not want a normal relationship with the Church, writes David Quinn   Hostile or negative headlines ahead of the Pope’s visit to Ireland next week have been mounting. The Irish Times ran three in the space of five days. One concerned a fear that homeless people will be ejected from emergency accommodation…

The Government seems determined to bar religion from public life, writes David Quinn   We live in truly extraordinary times. A conference on Humanae Vitae is addressed by a bishop and there is an immediate negative response on social media from no less a figure than our Health Minister, Simon Harris, who tweets, “Please just…

The State can’t protect families if we can’t even agree on the definition, writes David Quinn   The Government’s liberal push shows no sign of abating. On the contrary, its victories in the likes of the abortion and same-sex marriage referenda have only spurred them on. It now has in mind for us referenda on divorce,…