Patricia Casey The sexual abuse of children by priests has been a huge stain on the life of the Catholic Church, particularly in Ireland, the United States and parts of Europe. It has damaged the wellbeing of its victims, leading some to take their own lives. It has ruined the reputation of Catholicism in…
Euthanasia laws make people with disabilities feel like a burden, writes Dualta Roughneen I was listening to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Assisted Suicide today, Tuesday, February 16. Peter Kearns, representing the Independent Living Movement Ireland (ILMI) was speaking about the negative implications for people with disabilities if the Government is to legislate for euthanasia,…
Irish citizens get a vote, but do we really get a choice? On many key issues, Ireland’s political parties are politically indistinguishable. Policy options that are considered perfectly normal in most Western states are deemed taboo in Ireland, and are not even discussed. The Irish people’s trust in politicians and the media is plumbing new…
Doubts from members of the Oireachtas means Abortion Review recommendations face obstacles, writes Eilis Mulroy It’s hugely significant that members of the Oireachtas Health Committee have expressed doubts about the content of the Three Year Review Report on Ireland’s abortion law. After the Review report last year recommended wide-ranging changes to the abortion legislation, the…
We have Confirmation in the parish where I live, this year. Confirmation is celebrated every second year, with the liturgy alternating between our two churches. Thus has it ever been, since at least the Year Dot! In preparation for it and First Communion, a meeting was held with each set of parents. First Communion parents…
We are currently within the octave of Prayer for the Unity of Christians, and seldom in recent history has the spirit of Christian unity appeared more needed. Yet as I sat listening to a gentle homily about how Jesus Christ means peace – peace in our hearts, peace with our neighbours, and in the world…
Many people will have seen the recent TV programme about the Post Office scandal involving the wrongful prosecution of and conviction of sub-postmasters and the wrongful demands by the Post Office for tens of thousands of pounds allegedly missing from post office accounts, all the result of a faulty computer programme, Horizon, and, seemingly, the…
It’s right to expose historic instances of abuse, but we can’t obsess about it at the expense of vulnerable children in need today writes Michael Kelly It hasn’t been a great week for Minister Roderick O’Gorman’s Department for Integration. Although, in fairness, one could probably write that any given week over his turbulent tenure…
RTÉ documentary fails to ask the big questions about the priesthood, writes David Quinn You could tell Ardal O’Hanlon was pulling his punches in his documentary about the huge decline in vocations that was aired by RTÉ on Monday night, but you could also tell he won’t regret it when there are very few clergy…
Learning for lasting peace is a pipe-dream for many who don’t get to school, writes Dualta Roughneen The sixth International Day of Education will be celebrated on January 24, under the theme “learning for lasting peace”, with the assumption that education contributes to more peaceful societies. The idea is that the more educated a society…
Mary Kenny
Nuala O’Loan
Michael Kelly
David Quinn