Political rhetoric is becoming more and more divisive, more and more extreme. Mere disagreement is becoming rarer. What’s become commonplace is hurling anathema at those you disagree with. It’s not merely that a person is wrong, it’s that they must be wicked because they are wrong. In the field of religion, intense disagreements, sometimes turning…
The report into the country’s mother and baby homes is due out next February. I think that points very strongly to an abortion referendumwithin weeks of that, in other words in March or April of next year. The Government won’t want public anger at the mother and baby homes to go to waste. Those who…
World Meeting of Families must proclaim the truth with charity and clarity, writes David Quinn Every moral act has two main components, the objective and the subjective. Here’s an example. If someone steals, what they have done is wrong. The act of stealing is wrong in itself, objectively wrong. But the person might be starving.…
Society has to decide what the governing ethos of its hospitals should be, writes David Quinn News that the Sisters of Charity are ending their involvement with the St Vincent’s Healthcare Group (SVHG), and therefore with the three hospitals that come under the group, is very sad. In retrospect, the sisters should never have let…
It is easier for politicians to attack the Church and go along with the secular agenda, writes David Quinn What are Catholics to make of Enda Kenny’s time as Taoiseach? This is a very broad question because the answer doesn’t depend solely on his attitude towards the ‘institutional Church’ or to some of the big…
It’s wrong for clerics to use the excuse of a past overemphasis on fire and damnation to avoid talk of the reality of rejecting God, writes David Quinn Pope Francis has something of a cuddly image with the general public and with many priests. The Association of Catholic Priests (ACP), for example, wants the incoming…
In trying to eradicate Ireland’s Christian heritage, secularists could destroy Ireland’s identity, writes David Quinn Once French presidential candidate, Francois Fillon, was damaged by the scandal of paying his wife and family out of public funds for jobs that seemingly did not exist, it was inevitable that Emmanuel Macron would win the French election. Le…
Many people mistakenly confuse the Catholic Church with its governing structure, writes David Quinn People are by now well familiar with the case against the Catholic Church. As Archbishop Diarmuid Martin said in a little-noticed address a few days ago, the attacks are relentless. We are much less familiar with the case in favour of…
The debate over Ireland’s new maternity hospital is really about abortion, writes David Quinn Nuns in Ireland have been so stereotyped in Irish public debate that they have been reduced to the role of the villain in an old-fashioned Hammer horror movie. The archetype of this villainous nun is the character played by Geraldine McEwan…
Expect the Government’s Church-bashing to continue for some time, writes David Quinn Unless there is a pushback from unexpected quarters, last Friday was the last Good Friday when pubs across the nation will close. It appears the vintners have had their way because the Government has cleared the path to the pubs opening each Good…