Health experts have, in the past, had ambiguous approaches to sexually transmitted infections (STIs) – once called “venereal disease”, (after Venus, Roman love goddess). Some thought prevention could be assisted by shame and stigma, discouraging people from risking infection by promiscuous relationships. And undoubtedly some preachers portrayed “VD” as a punishment for sexual sins. Yet…

Earlier this month, Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly said that 8,500 women had availed of abortion services in Ireland in 2022. He sounded pretty pleased about the numbers, even though, if he is correct, it would represent an enormous jump in the number of babies being killed by abortion. In fact, it would represent a…

In their young lives, adolescents are far more likely to have suffered the worst kind of sexual assault than much older women who have seen far more of life, writes David Quinn There is a widespread idea that as Ireland becomes more liberal, it is almost becoming a kinder, gentler place. The evidence in favour…

Edwardo Campos Lima Members of indigenous groups were the largest number of people murdered in land disputes in Brazil in 2022. According to the Bishops’ Conference’s Land Pastoral Commission (CPT), which releases a report on rural conflicts every year, 47 people were killed last year as a result of such disputes – and 18 of…

Dale Gavlak Some 20 years after the US-led invasion of Iraq started and six years after Iraq declared victory over the Islamic State, whose attacks started in 2014, the country’s religious minorities are still trying to surmount challenges. According to the UN International Office for Migration (IOM), more than 200,000 Yazidis who survived the Islamic…

Fr John Harris OP Recently I visited our Irish Dominican community in Rome. By God’s good grace we have the care of the ancient basilica and convent of St Clement (San Clemente) since 1677. In the list of popes St Clement is ranked as third after St Peter (Peter, Linus, Cletus, Clement). He is said…

If Florence, Paris, or Rome were, at various times in the progress of European civilisation the central source of influence or ideas, the equivalent in today’s world might be Silicon Valley in California. This is where nearly all the tech revolutions have launched, and to which we owe that gadget in our pockets – the…

The president is clearly not where he should be as a Catholic, but the Pope encourages accompaniment rather than condemnation, writes David Quinn When President Joe Biden was in Ireland last week, there were no reports of him receiving Holy Communion. That meant no bishop or priest here was faced with the potentially very difficult…

The President of Ireland praised the Pope for repudiating the ‘Doctrine of Discovery’, writes Ruadhán Jones At the end of March, President of Ireland Michael D. Higgins sent Pope Francis a long letter praising the Pope for his “strong solidarity of indigenous peoples”. Francis’ call to the Christian community “never to permit itself to be…

With Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva back in power in Brazil, the acronym ‘BRICS’ is once again in fashion in international affairs. It refers to Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, with Lula’s vision being that these emerging economic and political superpowers could form a partnership to offset the predominance of the West. This…