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…

Ireland still does not want a normal relationship with the Church, writes David Quinn   Hostile or negative headlines ahead of the Pope’s visit to Ireland next week have been mounting. The Irish Times ran three in the space of five days. One concerned a fear that homeless people will be ejected from emergency accommodation…

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…

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…

Back in the 1960s, Clive James, novelist, memoirist, poet, TV performer and critic and all-round hilarious Australian lad, memorably said: “Of course I’m in favour of the [contraceptive] pill. It puts more crumpet on the market.” Clive didn’t say “I’m in favour of the contraceptive pill because it could help maternal health”…or “…because it empowers…

The View   During St John Paul’s pontificate, the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) was amended regarding the death penalty. Capital punishment was hedged about with so many conditions that the cases in which the execution of the offender is an absolute necessity were considered to be “very rare, if not practically non-existent”. In…

“Please just make it stop!” tweeted Health Minister Simon Harris on Sunday last in connection with a report on a conference on Humanae Vitae at the weekend. “Increasing access to & availability of contraception is and will remain public health policy. Religion plays an important role for many on an individual basis – but it…