Ireland has regressed when it comes to disability rights, writes Dualta Roughneen The right to health is a fundamental part of human rights and of an understanding of a life with dignity. It is not new. Internationally, it was first articulated in the 1946 Constitution of the World Health Organisation (WHO), whose preamble defines health…
Ireland’s policy for registering stillborn babies is regressive, writes Wendy Grace Hearing of any family who have had a stillborn baby would lead most people, I am sure, to empathise with the unbearable pain of losing a child. Of course, we want to do all we can to support any family in a time of…
Anto Akkara A watchdog group that monitors violence committed against Christians in India has released a study documenting 161 such crimes in the first 75 days of 2024. These numbers may underestimate the number of crimes and acts of persecution committed against Christians in India, according to AC Michael, a Catholic and coordinator of…
After much promotion by bishops and priests the Irish Church’s Year of Vocations comes to a close at the end of this month. Over the course of the initiative, announced by Bishop of Waterford and Lismore Alphonsus Cullinan, immersive events have popped up around the country with the intention of assisting and encouraging young men…
I received an anonymous letter a few weeks ago. I don’t normally read such correspondence but was about halfway through the screed when I realised it was unsigned. The letter was sent to inform me of the death of a priest-colleague, in another part of Ireland. The deceased was a paedophile. He had served time…
Dr Eoin Lenihan It is now a familiar story. A young media darling in a rush to the top is installed as the leader of Fine Gael and the country – without the electorate having a say in the matter. Mirroring Leo Varadkar’s meteoric rise to Taoiseach, Simon Harris is set to become Ireland’s youngest…
Humanity has always been flawed. We do not need to read the account of creation to know the extent of those flaws. Since time began it seems, the world has been at war. A world which is capable of providing for all its people, if we all but lived as we are called to live,…
The first person I met in the car park last Wednesday was Michael Healy-Rae. As usual, he had the phone to his ear. “Just a minute, Rónán,” he said, temporarily putting his caller on hold. “I’m hearing there’s a political earthquake about to happen and journalists are being summoned to Government buildings.” “You’re joking,” I…
Simply expressing what the Church teaches could be a crime, writes Michael Kelly A shocking new report from Britain published on Monday shows that three quarters of respondents, including teachers, councillors and academics, feel cowed into silence because they are frightened of being attacked for their views. The government report found that there is…
At John Bruton’s funeral in February, the homilist, Fr Bruce Bradley SJ, spoke of how we live now in a rapidly secularising age. He said that is not all bad, pointing to the growth in confidence, prosperity and diversity that the country has experienced. Nonetheless, something has been lost. Fr Bradley cited Seamus Heaney’s comments…
Wendy Grace
Nuala O’Loan
Senator Ronan Mullen
Michael Kelly
Breda O'Brien