“The heritage of ancient Holy Ireland has been woefully underdeveloped in recent years – almost ignored”, writes Mary Kenny One of the leading items on my ‘bucket list’ (things to do before you die) would be to walk the Camino of St James in Spain – or at least to walk some of it. It…
Following “a terrific reception for his latest document Amoris Laetitia” in America, there are those “who feel that he hasn’t gone far enough”, writes Mary Kenny I have a friend who wrote a well-researched book about the British royal family as a shrewdly ‘marketed’ celebrity product. When I asked him how his book had been…
“When it comes to the faith box, if you are an adherent of a faith, or a believer in any faith, say so”, writes Mary Kenny I detect a campaign starting up on social media to encourage people – perhaps agnostics, waverers, those uncertain of their spiritual values – to append ‘no religion’ on the…
“Most of the men and women of 1916 would not, I think, disapprove of the separation of Church and State”, writes Mary Kenny How would the leaders of 1916 see Ireland today? I believe they would see much of which they would approve. They would, surely, be thankful to see that poverty has so very…
“time heals all wounds between nations, and history puts everything into a constantly changing perspective”, writes Mary Kenny The history of St Patrick’s Day in Britain is interesting. Up until 1916 – significantly – it was well-marked and well-observed in London, particularly, as a great day for the Irish. The tradition of a royal family…
It can be a source of comfort to know that while their child could not sustain life, the baby could give life to others, writes Mary Kenny Recently, the TV comedy writer Graham Linehan wrote a poignant article in the Sunday Independent magazine about the termination of a pregnancy. He and his wife Helen found…
“how can we demand ‘rights’ from nature?”, questions Mary Kenny Many campaigners aiming to dismantle the Eighth (Life Equality) Amendment to the Irish Constitution – protecting human life in utero – now march under the banner of “reproductive rights”. It sounds such a simple demand: who wouldn’t allow parents their “reproductive rights”? But how complex…
“It’s good to see the Catholic Church laying claim to this heritage of caring for creation”, writes Mary Kenny I heard a sincere and impassioned sermon in Dublin at the weekend in which the priest spoke about defending the environment: this, he said, was following in the footsteps of Pope Francis and St Francis himself.…
It seems to me that there should be energetic campaigns to increase knowledge about septicaemia, writes Mary Kenny Sepsis, or septicaemia, is recognised as a real and present threat to health in Britain – where some 37,000 people a year die from the infection. To its credit, the London Daily Mail has been running a…
“Duh! is one reaction” to sexual activities requiring consent, writes Mary Kenny There have been some mixed reactions to the news that Trinity College Dublin is planning to subject their students to “sexual consent workshops”. The object is to teach those Freshers – mainly men, evidently – that it’s not acceptable to engage in sexual…