Even leaving aside the Catholic Church (and up until 1995, the Irish electorate) few institutions have been as opposed to divorce during the 20th Century as the British royal family. King George V, monarch at the time of the foundation of the Irish State (and of the Stormont parliament), would not receive divorcés at court.…
We must devise policies that make it easier for couples to have children and start their families sooner, writes David Quinn Critics of the Church often like to point out that the Mass-going population of the country is shrinking and getting older all the time. It’s true, but what they often fail to notice, is…
We need to use the synod to see what we can learn from the newer Catholic communities in Ireland, writes Sr Josephine Enenmo, OLA I am delighted at this opportunity to share my experience of being part of the Church in Ireland and my hopes for this journey titled: ‘For a synodal Church: Communion, Participation,…
Sunday marked the 63rd anniversary of an important turning point for 20th Century Catholicism, and one with direct relevance for understanding the current occupants of two of the most influential offices in Italy: Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church, and Sergio Mattarella, the recently re-elected President of the Republic. That turning point was the ordination of…
Over the past week, two leading European cardinals, both of whom enjoy broad favour with Pope Francis, have made public statements calling for a change in the Catholic Church’s current position on the issues of homosexuality and priestly celibacy. Homosexual relationships In an interview published in Germany’s Catholic News Agency (KNA) earlier this week, Jesuit…
The early years of my adulthood and priesthood were spent teaching theology at Newman Theological College in Edmonton, Canada. I was young, full of energy, loved teaching, and was discovering the joys of ministry. For the most part, these were good years. However, they weren’t always easy. Restlessness and inner chaos find us all. The…
Catholics are exhorted to love the world, but more often we find ourselves suspicious of it or hostile towards it, writes Jason Osborne ‘Cold War’ is a phrase reappearing with greater frequency these days thanks to the simmering tensions between the West, namely the US and the majority of Europe, and Russia and its more…
I am a pioneer! It is not that I am a trail blazer, entrepreneur or that I have discovered the previously undiscovered. No, I don’t drink alcohol and, since my teenaged years, I have been a member of the Pioneer Total Abstinence Association. It was an easy choice since both my parents were members as…
The View It was revealed on Monday that the Director of Public Prosecutions will not be pressing ahead with charges against those responsible for the care of ‘Grace’. The disabled woman known as Grace – not her real name – was placed in a foster home for 20 years in the south-east, even though there…
Deacon Frank Browne asks: Is the decline in priestly vocations a wakeup call to take the synodal pathway seriously? I have fond memories of student life in Clonliffe College, the Dublin Diocesan seminary in the early 1980s. There was hardly a vacant room with over 100 students. Most of my class were just out of school.…
Mary Kenny
David Quinn
John L. Allen Jr.
Fr Ronald Rolheiser
Michael Kelly