The View A midst the ongoing controversy about whether US President Joe Biden should be excommunicated for his stance on abortion, important points are being missed. There needs to be sustained teaching on the nature of the Eucharist before people will understand excommunication. (This is not to suggest a moratorium on excommunication until all Catholics…
We need action to stop parents being pushed to abort children like Baby Christopher, writes Vicky Wall In 2018, I was one of a group of parents who knew, from personal experience, that safeguards were needed to prevent abortion being pushed after a diagnosis of a life-limiting condition for baby. When I was pregnant with…
Jesus instructed his followers to teach all nations, but what about the rest of the Universe, asks David Quinn The United States released a report at the weekend which didn’t attract anything like the attention I thought it would. Maybe because Covid-19 is still dominating the news, and here in Ireland we decided to have…
Letter from Rome In response to a burgeoning controversy last week over the Vatican’s novel protest of a draft anti-homophobia law in Italy, Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State, said June 24 the goal of the move wasn’t to interfere with Italy’s internal politics but rather to head off a potential problem. Instead…
While the Vatican is embroiled in its own battle against gender politics in Italy, the Cuban bishops are facing a similar dilemma, and have issued a statement criticising a resolution that would make so-called “gender ideology” part of school curricula. The bishops argue that the resolution is unscientific in that it denies basic biological differences…
“There is only one true sadness, not being a saint!” French novelist, philosopher, essayist, Leon Bloy ends his novel The Woman Who Was Poor with that much-quoted line. Here is a less known quote from Leon Bloy which helps us understand why there is such a sadness in not being saint. “Joy is a sure…
Notebook Recently I visited the three schools of our parish to celebrate first penance with the boys and girls preparing for First Holy Communion. It is noteworthy that the number of children involved between the three schools is fourteen. I say this, as a slight aside, because when we hear of numbers, restrictions and NPHET…
The World Health Organisation has been issuing advice to women: do not drink any alcohol during your childbearing years. Because most women, from adolescence to menopause, are likely to become mothers, and boozing mothers can produce infants with the distressing Foetal Alcohol Syndrome. I wonder if I had been given such advice, when I was…
Larry Donnelly A few years ago now, I wrote in this newspaper about my determination to bring my young son, Larry Óg, to Mass with me every week. My resolve remains strong and, though he does sometimes protest, my namesake typically attends on Sundays with his parents at St Patrick’s Church here in Wicklow Town. Of…
The reality is that without fresh funding the work of safeguarding in the Church will fall behind, writes Michael Kelly “Hearts and minds have been changed, but there is no room for complacency” – that was the upbeat yet cautious assessment of the head of the independent body monitoring safeguarding in the Church this week.…
Breda O'Brien
David Quinn
John L. Allen Jr.
Fr Ronald Rolheiser
Mary Kenny
Michael Kelly