Standing on a street corner after Sunday Mass the other day, I was assailed by fury. I had joined a silent pro-life protest, organised by the Canadian parish I was visiting, and was carrying a placard that read: “Abortion kills children.” A young woman, who had stopped at the traffic lights, rolled down her window,…
About four years ago, I received a telephone call from a priest who invited a friend and I to a meeting. The priest didn’t actually say what the meeting was about – he just wondered if we might be interested in learning about his mission. We travelled to the Donegal border, and the priest introduced…
I once knew a hairdresser called Anthony or AJ, a Belfast man, who lived with his male partner, and made a point of watching The Song of Bernadette, an old black and white starring Jennifer Jones, at least once a year. He had seen it dozens of times. I met him when I was living…
“Has the Pope ever read the Bible?” This was a serious question from a serious person on social media this week. It follows yet another controversy about remarks made by Pope Francis, this time during a visit to Indonesia, when he spoke about faith to an inter-religious meeting of young people in Singapore. To critics,…
A few years ago, I was introduced to an American priest in Dublin. When I heard he was from Pennsylvania, the words were swiftly out of my mouth: “Oh boy, you guys have some real problems there right now”. I was referring to a massive sex abuse scandal. But when I saw the pained look on…
Turning to the past with dread, I forced myself to watch Stolen, a new RTÉ documentary billed as the inside story of the Mother and Baby homes. It was not only the wounded past I dreaded to look at, but a documentary which I (rightly) guessed would approach this tragic subject, with its own provocative…
There is a phrase that seems to send a ripple of fear through many Mass-goers these days. And it’s nothing to do with eternal punishment! Though Catholics of course should fear hell, it’s rarely mentioned. No, what appears to frighten the congregation these days is when a bishop or priest declares, after the consecration: “You…
A Dubliner, who liked a jar, was courting a Belfast woman in the eighties and was delighted when she invited him and his friends to Clonard. It was Sunday, and having enjoyed themselves the night before, they rushed to get ready – only to find that Clonard was not a local pub, but a monastery.…
Tis supposed to be the year of St Brigid. But with six months to go to the 1500th anniversary of her death, I was thinking there was a dearth of celebrations when a text came through about Brigid 1500. To mark the year, Dana has just written and recorded a new song for St Brigid.…
A tweet from a Dubliner caught my eye the other day. “I’m an atheist,” he declared, “who grew up under the horrible yoke of Irish Catholic fundamentalism. Except here’s the thing: it was fine. Every Christian brother and priest I interacted with was perfectly decent.” He also declared that he much preferred the Ireland of…