The View As I write this we are facing into what looks like a fairly bleak autumn and limited Christmas celebrations. Governments are struggling to reconcile the duty to deliver services to save lives and protect health with the needs to protect the economy, for without the healthiest possible economy there will be major problems.…

American liberals are horrified at the thought of a Supreme Court judge imposing their view on the law, writes David Quinn The US Supreme Court is an extremely powerful body. Unlike in Ireland, it is very difficult to pass a constitutional referendum in the United States, and therefore when the Supreme Court passes a judgement,…

If you’ve been to LA, you’re bound to have met them – clean-shaven, young, wearing a neat suit or a business dress – the friendly face of the controversial entity that is the Church of Scientology. The organisation has had a presence in Ireland since 1957, but it’s only recently that they have attempted to…

Netflix has come under criticism, mainly from those on the conservative spectrum, on a number of occasions in recent years for some of the content their platform hosts. However, this all paled into the distance with the release of one of their latest movies, Cuties. Senegalese-French director MaïmounaDoucouré’s debut film, Cuties is described as a…

Letter from Rome Although the drama triggered by the sudden fall from grace of Italian Cardinal Angelo Becciu is far from over, things nonetheless have reached the stage where it’s also possible to stand back and ponder the bigger picture. I say “possible”, not necessarily likely, because frankly the story is just too riveting at…

Vatican cardinal forced to resign insists he will prove the Pope was wrong In an impromptu press conference held the day after his unexpected resignation was announced, Italian Cardinal Angelo Becciu argued that he is innocent of accusations of illegal financial activity and will prove his innocence if given the chance. “In our meeting, the…

All the current talk about judges and courts made me reflect this week on the role of law in Christian civilisation. The institutions of justice are not, of course, a Christian invention; it was the pagan Romans who were the pioneers in legal thought and practice. It was they, for example, who first enunciated the…

President Trump has said that, following the death of Ruth Bader Ginsberg, he intends to nominate another woman to be a Judge in the American Supreme Court. That’s great! There are two leading, clever women lawyers who are candidates. In an era when gender balance is upheld as an ideal, you might think that there…

The View Like all other Catholics in Dublin last weekend, I was unable to attend Mass due to the level three restrictions designed to lower the numbers of Covid-19 cases. Although during the original lockdown I was very grateful to have live streamed liturgies, nothing replaces worshipping in a real-life community. Still, it is amazing…