Our attitude towards the disabled is something we must seriously consider as we debate abortion, writes David Quinn One of the issues that has given rise to the very strong possibility of an abortion referendum in the next year or two is that of unborn babies diagnosed with a life-limiting disability, also known as a…

Rudolph Otto famously described the religious sentiment as the mysterium tremendum et fascinans, “the tremendous and fascinating mystery”, but to be honest, that’s probably not how most Catholics experience it. For many Catholics, the faith may be primarily about community and worship, or about a set of doctrinal convictions, or an ethical code, even a…

Long before he assumed the highest office in the United States, President Donald Trump’s contradictory statements on everything from the war in Iraq to abortion were subjected to quizzically raised brows and prime-time debates. None of which has done the billionaire businessman any harm as he harangues and denounces anyone brazen enough to try and…

Gamal Tawfiq, a Coptic Christian schoolteacher, was walking home from work when his killers struck on February 16. Having been stalked through the streets of el Arish, the largest city on Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, Tawfiq was shot from a passing motorcycle, on which the killers then made their hasty escape. The death of Tawfiq was…

Our society tends to divide us up into winners and losers. Sadly, we don’t often reflect on how this affects our relationships with each other, nor on what it means for us as Christians. What does it mean? In essence, that our relationships with each other tend are too-charged with competition and jealousy because we…

Bro. Conor McDonough Picture the scene: a mid-20th-Century crowd of Irish emigrants in a newsagent’s after Mass. They all rush to buy the ‘Irish papers’ to find out what the important people in Dublin are doing and how the metropolis views the provinces. Then in walks a Monaghan eccentric. He has notions, so maybe he’s…

Bro. Kevin O’Reilly OP A new musical prodigy has appeared in our midst: Alma Deutscher, an 11-year-old English girl, has been causing quite a sensation in the world of classical music. Although she prefers not to be compared with Mozart, it’s difficult not to think in these terms. Hearing is believing when it comes to…

“Those misguided individuals who thought they were protecting the Church actually brought it to its knees”, writes Michael Kelly In the devastating report on the handling of abuse allegations against priests in the Dublin archdiocese, Judge Yvonne Murphy identified a clear pattern. The avoidance of scandal and the protection of the reputation of the Church…

“We’re all free to hold any political opinion that we like, and to express that opinion”, writes Mary Kenny A young relation of mine in Germany was in touch with me last week saying how much everyone, it seems, in that country really, really dislikes Donald Trump. Although he is no fan of Mr T,…

“It would be more accurate to speak of promotion of the right to cause death”, writes Breda O’Brien The idea that you can gather 100 people together over a number of weekends and that they will come to independent conclusions that are better than those arrived at by elected representatives is an interesting one. It…