The View “All of us here today understand an eternal truth: every child is a precious and sacred gift from God. Together we must protect, cherish, and defend the dignity and the sanctity of every human life. “When we see the image of a baby in the womb, we glimpse the majesty of God’s creation.…
The View On Monday, the Church celebrates the great moment of the first revelation of the Messiah to all nations and peoples: the Epiphany. Traditionally considered even more theologically significant than the Nativity, this was the moment in time when Christ was revealed as not only a Messiah for God’s chosen people, but for…
The View While at Mass on the first Sunday in Advent, I was momentarily struck by the beauty of the sanctuary, and the vestments worn by the priest and deacons. The chasuble, a heavy silk damask with a background of indigo, was exquisitely embroidered with clouds of gold and silver thread. All around, my eyes…
The View How many angels can dance on the head of a pin? What (if you will pardon the pun) could be more pointless than debating a question like this? Why anyone could ever have wasted time in such an exercise is now – and for a long time has been – unfathomable to many.…
The View September is a month that means back to school for most families: new uniforms and bags are donned while the trees shed their leaves and the last of the summer sun wanes. It is an exciting time, full of expectation that the newness of a fresh start brings. It is, for Catholic parents…
I have a confession to make: I once voted for Fine Gael. There, I said it. It is a long time since I have seen the error of my ways, but the events of the past week provide yet another depressing reminder of that party’s insistence upon stifling conformity. The President of Young Fine Gael (YFG),…
The View In her 1979 essay ‘Let Us Not Be Hypocritical’, the late Harvard professor Judith Shklar wrote that: “Hypocrisy remains the only unforgiveable sin even, perhaps especially, among those who can overlook and explain away almost every other vice.” I found myself reflecting on this idea recently, when the Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, got…
The summer has come and I am on holidays on a small island off the west coast of France. The landscape is a flat patchwork quilt of salt marshes criss-crossed with bicycle paths. Cycling from one village to the next, it is the landmark of the church spire that draws you to your destination. Village…
We are to have a referendum on May 24. The proposal is to change the Constitution to make it easier and quicker to get a divorce. The referendum will pass. For anyone who is brave enough to take part in public debate opposing the proposed change, I predict that this is the way it will…
The View Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has published an essay commenting on the sex abuse scandal that has rocked the Catholic Church for some time. The former Pope broke his usual silence in order, in his own words, “to contribute one or two remarks to assist in this difficult hour”. At the heart of…