“The commission has recognised its duty to create policies with global application, which send very clear messages about what must be done everywhere in the world. We have seen that it is capable of this”, writes Nuala O’Loan Pope Francis established the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, because, he said, “Many painful actions…
Category: Comment & Analysis
Politics in Ireland has fragmented, like religion
Faith in anything, once lost, is not easily restored, writes David Quinn Lately I’ve taken to calling myself a ‘lapsed’ or a ‘non-practicing’ Fine Gaeler. You might be the same, or else you might be a lapsed Fianna Fáil supporter who perhaps returned to the party at the recent election or maybe opted for one…
Don’t terminate – donate organs, urge British doctors
It can be a source of comfort to know that while their child could not sustain life, the baby could give life to others, writes Mary Kenny Recently, the TV comedy writer Graham Linehan wrote a poignant article in the Sunday Independent magazine about the termination of a pregnancy. He and his wife Helen found…
Voters have rejected the abortion agenda
Most of the loud voices pushing for more abortion were rejected by voters, writes Niamh Uí Bhriain Niamh Uí Bhriain Long before the general election was ever called, Labour’s Aodhán Ó Ríordáin insisted that if voters wanted abortion-on-demand legalised in Ireland, his was the party that would deliver. Mr Ó Ríordáin and his colleagues then…
Our schools need official Catholic RSE programme
It’s time the bishops commissioned a Catholic version of the sex education programme, writes David Quinn Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) has been part of primary and secondary school education for many years now. As is the case with other parts of the school curriculum, there seems to be wide variation between schools in terms…
Expecting an exhortation
The Pope’s imminent document will speak to couples and families struggling to cope with the pressures of society, writes Cathal Barry Just when you thought the buzz from last year’s family synod was petering out, it’s set to come back with a bang. The debate around Communion for divorced and remarried Catholics is set to…
The sacraments of healing
The Church teaches that Jesus’ compassion allows him to identify with those who suffer, writes Cathal Barry Illness and suffering have always been among the gravest problems confronted in human life, according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church. “In illness, man experiences his powerlessness, his limitations, and his finitude. Every illness can make us…
Pain helps open us up to deeper consciousness
In a deeply insightful book, The Grace of Dying, Kathleen Dowling Singh shares insights she has gleaned as a health professional from being present to hundreds of people while they are dying. Among other things, she suggests that the dying process itself, in her words, “is exquisitely calibrated to automatically produce union with Spirit”. In…
We should be publicly proud to be Catholic
There is a concerted campaign to relegate religion to the shadows of Irish society, writes Fr Martin Delaney Recently I watched a US television interview with President Obama in the Oval Office of the White House. The interviewer from CBS mentioned to the president that she had heard he carries in his pocket some mementoes…
Catholic leaders weigh in on US Presidential election
“It takes courage to stand up and be counted against someone like Mr Trump”, writes Editor Michael Kelly I spent some time last month in the United States where election fever has already gripped the country. Voters don’t actually go to the polls to elect a new president until November 8, but eight months out,…