It’s hard for the schools to teach the Faith if all the parents want is ‘Catholic-lite’, writes David Quinn Your average Catholic school today is not, in fact, very Catholic at all. That statement needs a bit of unpacking. A Catholic school is, of course, officially Catholic in that it comes under the patronage of…
Government’s actions suggest a preference for vaguely articulating a desired standard of behaviour and then tricking citizens into compliance, writes Prof. Oran Doyle Legal prohibitions on religious services have been much in the news lately. In this unavoidably lengthy post, I will show how these prohibitions have evolved over time in order to identify precisely…
Letter from Rome Here’s a brief sampling of news stories that have moved across the Vatican wire in recent days. – The Pontifical Council for Culture, under the ever-idiosyncratic Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, raised eyebrows anew with its announcement of a forthcoming May 6-8 conference on health care, cosponsored with the Cura Foundation, which, among other…
Dennis Sandowski President Joe Biden’s plan to withdraw US armed forces from Afghanistan by September 11 is leading observers to renew concerns about continued progress on human rights, the status of democratic reforms and whether a resurgence of violence will set back the war-beleaguered country. When leaving without a peace accord and peacekeeping forces, we…
Ten years before his death in 1996, Henri Nouwen was beset by a depression that nearly broke him. While in treatment, he wrote a very powerful book, The Inner Voice of Love, in which he humbly and candidly shared his struggles and the efforts it took to overcome them. At times, he felt completely overwhelmed…
Notebook What links the start of the tax year in the UK with the feast of the Annunciation? “Nothing” might be the instinctive reaction, but it would be incorrect. Once upon a time in mediaeval England, the New Year (and the start of the tax year) coincided with feast of the Annunciation on March 25.…
Because most people of faith are law-abiding, there has been Church compliance with the Government’s draconian regulations against public worship – even though, as this newspaper has pointed out repeatedly, all across Europe, and Britain, churches are open for prayer and services. Yet, in the light of history, it is utterly shocking that this new…
The View Many interesting books are being published around the centenary of partition and the border. The Irish civil war of 1922-23 – however painful at the time and long after – is now history. In his detailed, critical but also sympathetic book, A Difficult Birth: The Early Years of Northern Ireland 1920-25, Alan Parkinson…
The chilling effect on free speech of moves to push legislation should be obvious, writes David Quinn The Government is aiming to pass a new law against so-called ‘hate crimes’. It looks certain to be passed because few voices have been raised in opposition to it. On the contrary, it seems to have general assent…
Why do sincere people so often find themselves at odds with each other? The issue here is not about when sincerity meets insincerity or plain old sin. No. The question is why sincere, God-fearing people can find themselves radically at odds with each other. Among other things, it can help us understand what’s at the…
David Quinn
John L. Allen Jr.
Fr Ronald Rolheiser
Mary Kenny