We have little right to be judging the past while we deny children their identity with the blessing of the State today, writes David Quinn ‘Who am I?’ was the question asked by a recent RTÉ programme about illegal adoptions in Ireland. It is one of the most fundamental questions we can ask ourselves. Most…

For better discussions on married priests we would do well to look to the Eastern Rite Christians, writes Peadar Laighleis Debates on married clergy have gone on as long as I can remember. Most people used the Protestant denominations as examples. Few referred to Eastern Churches – Catholic or Orthodox – though Catholic theology of…

Letter from Rome A n unusual sex abuse trial currently underway in the Vatican took a potentially explosive turn Wednesday, February 24 and the response may have a great deal to say about how serious the reforms launched by Pope Francis actually are. Three witnesses testified that Italian Cardinal Angelo Comastri, who was relieved of his…

A day after nearly 300 Nigerian schoolgirls were set free after being kidnapped two weeks, one nun has warned that nothing is being done to stop incidents like this from happening, and that unless action is taken soon, her country is headed for a catastrophe. Irreconcilable Referring to the violence and kidnappings that have ravaged Nigeria…

Notebook I’m a year older! This week I turned 58. When I was ordained, a priest in his fifties seemed a lifetime away from me. Now I’m nearer 60 than 50 and I wonder where the years have gone. The big difference, and I’m sad to say this, is that there are no 24-year-old priests…

When my brother James went to work in a bank, he was first sent to Oldcastle, Co. Meath. In those days – this was back in the 1950s – the Hibernian Bank was regarded as ‘the Catholic bank’, especially in counties nearing the border, while the Ulster Bank was regarded as ‘the Protestant bank’. Farmers…

The View Schools move back into operation this week, with over 300,000 four to seven-year-olds returning to the classroom. This is an age-group notorious for its inability to sit still, take instructions consistently, and with a developmental need for touch. Yet we adults — with a greater ability to take instructions, follow rules, and observe…

The human rights abuses of the communist regime are becoming worse by the day, writes David Quinn W hen Irish people pay attention to what is happening overseas, it is mainly what is happening in Britain and America that occupies our minds. That’s understandable, because so many Irish live in those countries and Britain is…

Letter from Rome From the beginning, Pope Francis has been committed to financial reform of the Vatican. It was the first study commission he created, it was the first major appointment he made, and it’s been a constant of his papacy over what’s now almost eight years. Yet after all this time, Francis faces the…