A wise old bird – wise in the ways of public communication – once said to me: “You can’t be against everything – or be seen to be against everything. Pick your targets. Prioritise what’s important to you.” I would now, with respect, pass on that advice to Mary McAleese. You can’t be against everything in…
That most Irish people believe the Church should ordain women, as a new poll suggests, shouldn’t surprise anyone. Only two years ago 58% agreed with the proposal when Ireland’s farming community was polled on the issue, while in 2012, according to an Amárach Research poll for the Association of Catholic Priests, a massive 77% of…
Thomas Aquinas once suggested that it’s a sin to not give a compliment to someone when it’s deserved because by withholding our praise we’re depriving that person of the food that he or she needs to live on. He’s right. Perhaps it’s not a sin to withhold a compliment but it’s a sad impoverishment, both…
Dear Editor, Breda O’Brien and Greg Daly’s articles on Pope Francis’ ruling that henceforth Catholics should regard the death penalty as ‘inadmissible’ (IC 9/8/2018) show just how natural a development this is in Catholic teaching, and show too how absurd it is that a handful of vociferous Catholics are complaining about this. Absurd? What other…
The Notebook Fr Vincent Sherlock I met him in a hotel in Rome. “What do you think of Rome?” I asked him. “I don’t like it,” he replied, “it’s too hot and I find it hard to get used to the food”.w He told me he was there because his daughter was getting married…
Sometimes you’d be forgiven for thinking that there is nothing to celebrate in being Catholic and Irish in modern Ireland. Hostility towards the Church is extremely high and truth be told it was always going to intensify in the run up to the visit of Pope Francis and the World Meeting of Families. A poll…
Mary Kenny
Maria Steen
Greg Daly
David Quinn
Fr Ronald Rolheiser
Michael Kelly
Breda O'Brien