“Although I oppose abortion I think I’ll vote to repeal the Eighth Amendment. I’ll never choose abortion but I won’t stand in the way of others choosing it.” This is quite a common position being taken concerning the forthcoming referendum, even among Catholics and other Christians. Those holding this position sense that abortion is wrong but,…
How to defend the Faith without raising your voice: Conference Silence is not an option for Catholics in the public sphere, papal biographer Austen Ivereigh told a packed room in the Red Cow Hotel at this year’s The Irish Catholic national conference. Quoting Pope Francis’ observation that the cemetery is only place where there…
Colm Fitzpatrick speaks with pro-life voice Gavin Boyne Discussions concerning abortion can often lead to empty rhetoric rife with misleading information, but a new media initiative is providing a platform where Irish voters can learn the real facts about this issue, and hopefully share them with others. Our Future is an online resource for…
As referendum day approaches, Catholics will be told by all and sundry that they should vote according to their consciences. In a Western democratic society like Ireland, which values individual freedom and personal autonomy above all else, there is little difficulty in accepting the central role of ‘conscience’. Hardly anyone disagrees with that, because ultimately…
WMOF 2018 With just under four months to go until the opening of the World Meeting of Families 2018 in Dublin, the organising team has just announced another registration milestone with more than 17,000 people now registered for the Pastoral Congress which will take place in the RDS, Dublin from 22-24 August. Figures show…
WMOF 2018 Despite at times inclement weather, the Family Picnic Fun Day in Lough Key Forest Park last Sunday (April 22) was a winner. “One of the lovely things about the west of Ireland is that people are so used to the weather that they come out anyway, because [otherwise] you’d never come out,”…
The Church paved the way for the republican victory in Ireland’s 1918 general election, writes Gabriel Doherty As turning points in Irish history go, the ‘conscription crisis’ that enveloped Ireland a century ago in the spring of 1918 was perhaps second only to the Easter Rising in terms of its impact upon public sentiment…
Each of us will soon have the opportunity to vote on whether or not to remove an amendment to the Irish Constitution that defends the right to life of unborn children. There is no point in beating around the bush: a vote to remove this protection from unborn children will be a vote for abortion.…
On the feast day of St Macartan a special liturgy was celebrated in Clogher parish and the petitions placed by thousands of families in various parishes over recent months were entrusted to the five religious orders in the diocese. The focus was on families and the forthcoming World Meeting of Families (WMOF) to be held…
The new apostolic exhortation of Pope Francis Gaudete et Exsultate (rejoice and be glad) was published this week. Here we offer bitesize extracts from the 22,000-word document CHAPTER ONE : THE CALL TO HOLINESS THE SAINTS WHO ENCOURAGE AND ACCOMPANY US The saints now in God’s presence preserve their bonds of love and communion…
Greg Daly
Colm Fitzpatrick
Susan Gately
Chai Brady