One of the country’s smallest dioceses remains in turmoil with questions now being asked about its future, writes Martin O’Brien This is a Holy Week and Easter like none before in the history of the Diocese of Dromore, and for all the wrong reasons. The diocese, one of the smallest in the country, headquartered…
Category: Comment & Analysis
Government’s proposals: the reality of repeal
The View Although the Government still hasn’t announced the date for the referendum to repeal the rights of children before they are born, we now know what it is they are proposing. No longer can anyone say: “Ireland is different, we have a different culture here; Irish politicians wouldn’t vote for a permissive abortion…
Mother and baby homes: a hidden history
Every society has treated ‘unwanted’ children as a problem, writes David Quinn As with the Magdalene homes, mother and baby homes have developed a strong attachment in the public mind with both Ireland and Catholicism. That is to say, these institutions seem peculiar to Irish Catholicism. This linkage in the public mind is likely…
Pre-synod hears argument to give young people a stronger voice in parishes
Young people want trusted guides as they explore their faith and their vocation, said five young adults from the US attending the Vatican’s pre-synod meeting. The US delegates to the Vatican meeting also said the 305 young adults from around the world want to see young people consulted more often in their parishes and dioceses.…
Putting God on trial
In both our piety and our agnosticism we sometimes put God on trial and whenever we do that, it’s we who end up being judged. We see that in the Gospel accounts of the trial of Jesus, particularly in John’s Gospel. John’s Gospel, as we know, paints a portrait of Jesus from the point of…
The admission price is covered – the tomb is empty
The Notebook Fr Vincent Sherlock The Lent has passed and hopefully it treated you well. Looking back we might well identify moments of great grace and moments of failure but, combined, they are the story of Lent and the pathway to where we now gather. Easter Sunday can be unfairly seen as the poor…
I’m speechless! The lessons of enforced silence
I opened my mouth to speak, last weekend, and what emerged sounded like the strangled bleatings of an afflicted ewe. By Monday I was entirely speechless, my voice chords silenced by a nasty attack of laryngitis. Whispering and written messages were the only replacements. People were understanding when I signalled “I’ve lost my voice” –…
The secret of loyal opposition
The View The role of the loyal critic is a vital one in the Church. Many times in its history, the Church has lost its way and been recalled to it through the action of the Holy Spirit working through women and men. President emeritus Mary McAleese clearly sees herself as part of that…
Accepting the Church Jesus Christ gave us
Our Lord’s maleness was not an accident, writes David Quinn The debate over whether or not women in the Catholic Church can be priests is one for Catholics, first and foremost. That ought to go without saying. Many of those chipping in on the issue over the last couple of weeks don’t believe in…
Our need to pray…
Unless you somehow have a foot outside of your culture, the culture will swallow you whole. Daniel Berrigan wrote that and it’s true too in this sense: unless you can drink in strength from a source outside yourself, your natural proclivities for paranoia, bitterness and hatred will invariably swallow you whole. The disciples in Luke’s…