Senator Rónán Mullen has paid a stirring tribute to the legendary Dolores Keane, highlighting a powerful pro-life story. In a past Sunday Independent interview, Keane recounted a confrontational moment with a London doctor who, doubting her baby’s survival, bluntly advised her to abort. Her response was as legendary as her voice: “I just kicked the…
The difference of views between Bishop Niall Coll (I-Gen and Gen Z youth) and Fr Brendan Hoban (writing recently in The Western People) is about more than one bishop’s reading of youth culture or one priest’s irritation with it. It goes to the heart of the deepest question facing Irish Catholicism: where, exactly, is renewal…
Apologetics: the missing dimension of evangelisation Dear Editor, One necessary dimension of evangelisation seems absent from the articles of Fr Eamonn Conway and Fr Billy Swan in The Irish Catholic (March 12) – that of apologetics. Two scenarios indicate its necessity. Firstly, one quotation from Nicholas Cuddihy’s article (p. 17) concerning schools designated as Catholic:…
Public debate about the role of women in the Catholic Church tends to orbit around one question: Will the Church ordain women? In some circles, that question narrows even further: will women at least be ordained deacons? But the latest work emerging from Study Group 5 of the Synod on Synodality offers a sobering reminder:…
Study Groups on relevant questions from the Synthesis’ Report of the First Session of the XVI General Ordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops were set up and Study Group No. 5 looked at women in ministries. Here is an extract. Fundamental Issues (III): Ministries Turning to the concrete forms of women’s participation in…
The immorality of the ‘triple lock’ Dear Editor, David Quinn is one of the finest writers in Ireland today, but I was surprised at the naiveté of his recent piece supporting the so-called ‘triple lock’ (IC, February 26). In simple terms the ‘triple lock’ requires the permission of the UN Security Council before the Irish…
Northern Ireland is, by a very long distance, the most religiously affiliating region of the United Kingdom, with just 24% with no religion, a newly released research report has stated. The equivalent rate for the Republic is 32% identifying with no religion over the same period examined by the researchers, who add: “Meanwhile, a third…
The General Secretariat of the Synod today publishes the first two Final Reports of the Study Groups established by Pope Francis following the First Session of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops: that of Study Group No. 3 on The mission in the digital environment and that of Study Group No.…
Bishop Niall Coll’s recent remarks mark a significant moment in the lead-up to the upcoming October synod, indicating an episcopal push towards inclusivity, particularly for the younger generations who often feel disconnected from the synodal process. His insights reflect a growing recognition that many of today’s youth have no memory of a Catholic Ireland and…
The human rights advocacy group The Countess has released new guides to bring “much-needed clarity” to schools regarding sex-based rights, gender identity, legislation and safeguarding.” The guides, titled ‘Gender and Law: A Guide for School Principals & Boards Of Management’ and ‘Gender and Law: A Safeguarding Guide for Community & Youth Groups’, lay out a…