Lots of small, kind gestures make saints, writes David Quinn A few weeks ago during a chat with a renowned Italian journalist, the Pope seemed to call the existence of Hell into doubt, or so it was reported. The journalist, Eugenio Scalfari (94), is founder of the traditionally anti-clerical newspaper, La Repubblica. Pope Francis…
Speaking one’s mind can be both controversial and compelling, writes David Quinn Recently I came across for the first time an interpretation of why the Jews spent 40 years in the desert before finally arriving at the Promised Land. It was to “purify them” of the slave mentality. I then found this is a…
Every society has treated ‘unwanted’ children as a problem, writes David Quinn As with the Magdalene homes, mother and baby homes have developed a strong attachment in the public mind with both Ireland and Catholicism. That is to say, these institutions seem peculiar to Irish Catholicism. This linkage in the public mind is likely…
Our Lord’s maleness was not an accident, writes David Quinn The debate over whether or not women in the Catholic Church can be priests is one for Catholics, first and foremost. That ought to go without saying. Many of those chipping in on the issue over the last couple of weeks don’t believe in…
A Catholic with a properly formed conscience cannot vote for abortion, writes David Quinn Can a Catholic in good conscience vote in favour of abortion? This was the question put to the new Bishop of Raphoe, Alan McGuckian, on Morning Ireland last week. Bishop McGuckian was speaking about the bishops’ latest statement on the…
Christianity isn’t a ‘snowflake’ religion, writes David Quinn During the snow of last week, a number of dioceses around the country said churches should close and also advised Catholics that they were released from their obligation to attend Mass on Sunday if they felt it would be unsafe to travel to church. This got…
It is no exaggeration to say that the Irish State is aggressively hostile to the rights of the unborn child. It is a level of hostility rare to find in any other Western country in recent times, including countries that have permitted abortion on widespread grounds for decades. In most countries abortion is introduced either…
An artificial human reproduction law is the Government’s latest attack on children’s rights, writes David Quinn With almost no public – or indeed political – scrutiny, a law intended to regulate the practice of Assisted Human Reproduction (AHR) is currently before the Oireachtas. It is being considered at the moment by the Health Committee.…
Suffering is the flipside of love writes David Quinn Everyone at some point in their lives has to confront the awesome reality of suffering. It may come in the form of ill health, job loss or the breakup of a marriage. These things are bad when they happen to us personally but are often…
We cannot be silent about aborting babies with disabilities, writes David Quinn The issue of Down syndrome has featured fairly prominently in the abortion debate so far and is likely to feature more prominently in the weeks to come. The reason is simple; huge numbers of babies diagnosed with Down syndrome (DS) are aborted.…