Parents need guarantees from the State that the ethos of Catholic schools would be properly respected, writes David Quinn Is it really true that only Catholics can teach in Catholic schools in Ireland, as a recent newspaper article seemed to suggest? The short answer is no, but that didn’t stop the issue being debated on…
Category: Comment & Analysis
Catholic-Protestant relations at 20-year low survey finds
Relations between Catholics and Protestants seem to be fraying in the North, Chai Brady writes Good relations between Catholics and Protestants in the North have decreased substantially according to the latest statistics from the Executive. A number of factors are influencing this decline – including the fact that since 2021 questions have been changed in…
Synod, soccer, sexuality: Pope gives another wide-ranging interview
Cindy Wooden In an hourlong interview with Italy’s main news programme, Pope Francis announced he would travel to Dubai in early December for the UN Climate Change Conference, COP28. He also revealed that he speaks every day with the priest and women religious at Holy Family Church in Gaza, that he was pleased with the…
Indigenous frustrations continue under Lula say Brazil bishops
Eduardo Campos Lima Despite hopes that violent land disputes in Brazil would diminish with the return to power of leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, generally seen as more favourable to land reform and Indigenous rights, Brazil’s Catholic bishops recently reported no decline over the first six months of 2023. For the most part,…
Queue skipping and being serious about synodality
Recently I spent a few days in Rome with two friends who were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. We had a wonderful experience as the Eternal City always seems to tick so many of the boxes that make for a great holiday. My abiding memory of this recent trip will be one of ‘queueing’. We…
After a long synod…the wait goes on
Wherever one finds oneself on matters of ecclesiastical politics and bureaucracy, there is no doubting that the Roman synod that concluded at the weekend was the most momentous event in the life of the Church since the Second Vatican Council (1962-65).
If Church ‘power’ has declined maybe that’s a good thing…
“Census highlights waning power of Catholicism” ran the headline, reporting the demographic changes in the latest census records.
Finding peace during one of the world’s most dangerous times
We Irish tend to be a cheerful bunch. We like to look on the bright side, and hope for the best. Yet there are times when it’s prudent to be wary, and even fearful.
Census 2022: Catholicism declines but religiosity still high
While Catholics make up less than 70% of the Irish population in Census 2022, the full breakdown released on October 26 shows that ‘no religion’ is still by far in the minority.
Incardination of predator priest Rupnik is an epic fail for synodality
So, former Jesuit Marko Ivan Rupnik, the priest dismissed by the Society of Jesus after it was determined that charges of his sexual ‘misconduct’ with between nine and 20 or more women, and at least one man, were credible, has been incardinated as a priest in Slovenia’s Diocese of Koper.
David Quinn

Chai Brady



Michael Kelly
Mary Kenny

Ruadhán Jones
