On politics and God in Ireland…

When I was a young feminist, engaging in fiery discussions with the likes of June Levine, Nell McCafferty, Mary Robinson and Mairín de Burca, there was one principle on which we agreed: this was “the personal is political”. And furthermore, we affirmed that “everything is political”. We young leftists absolutely concurred that politics was part…

Families can have children…and pets, Holy Father!

When the Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni met Pope Francis, commentators expected a clash of views. Ms Meloni’s right-wing party is strongly committed to halting excessive immigration to Italy, while the Pope has always emphasised the Gospel directive to welcome the stranger. And since his parents were immigrants to Argentina, perhaps he also identifies with…

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The congregation of widows

The woman in the pew just behind me smiled pleasantly at the “sign of peace” and I returned her friendly greeting. I didn’t know her well, but had occasionally encountered her locally. Later, after Mass, she spoke to me some more. An attractive lady in her 60s, she had recently been widowed, after many decades…

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The sin or the sinner – a knotty question

The legendary French feminist Simone de Beauvoir has been removed from a list of female candidates to be honoured in sculpture at Trinity College Dublin’s Old Library. When it emerged that De Beauvoir, who died in 1986, was accused of grooming young female students as lovers – whom she apparently passed on to her veteran…

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Sexually transmitted infections – stigma or healthcare?

Health experts have, in the past, had ambiguous approaches to sexually transmitted infections (STIs) – once called “venereal disease”, (after Venus, Roman love goddess). Some thought prevention could be assisted by shame and stigma, discouraging people from risking infection by promiscuous relationships. And undoubtedly some preachers portrayed “VD” as a punishment for sexual sins. Yet…

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A pro-baby movement from Silicon Valley

If Florence, Paris, or Rome were, at various times in the progress of European civilisation the central source of influence or ideas, the equivalent in today’s world might be Silicon Valley in California. This is where nearly all the tech revolutions have launched, and to which we owe that gadget in our pockets – the…

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Robots won’t replace our souls…

We cannot predict the future of humankind, but nevertheless, experts in various fields continue to do so. In recent weeks, the experts at the investment banking empire Goldman Sachs have been telling us that Artificial Intelligence – the rise and rise of robots engineered by computerised science – will erase about 300 million jobs in…

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