During a two-week period in July our parish was faced with the reality of suicide three times. The magnificent summer sunshine somehow jarred with the dark clouds of sadness and despair which hovered over our frightened community. Two single men, one 58 the other 26, and then a young mother of four children whose youngest…

I – IF – an individual does something reprehensible at the age of 17, possibly under the influence of alcohol, does that bar that individual from the responsibility of public office for the rest of their life? Second question: if a person is accused of a reprehensible act, does that automatically make them guilty? Such are…

The View   Ireland has a proud record of environmental protection.  It is good to see the concern which enables the continued protection of pygmy stoats, red squirrels, otters, pine martens, badgers, hares, all bat and deer species, the Natterjack Toad and the Common Newt, almost all resident wild birds, the White-clawed Crayfish, the Freshwater…

Our Christian faith ultimately rests on Christ himself, writes David Quinn   The faith of many Catholics has suffered another battering recently because of the latest eruption of public anger over abuse scandals. In Germany, a report commissioned by the Catholic bishops there shows that over a 70-year period, more than 3,000 priests have been…

There is reason to speculate on how well prepared the Pope was for his Irish trip, writes Greg Daly   “It is not enough to turn the page. Life must be given anew.” This quote from Pope Francis headlined the La Civiltà Cattolica account last week of the August 25 meeting between the Pope and…

Francis is gambling with bishops’ conferences, but it’s probably the only card he has, writes Michael Kelly   Depending on where you stand on Pope Francis, his decision to call a summit of the heads of the world’s bishops’ conferences is either courageous or too little too late. It’s certainly unprecedented and the February meeting…

Letter from Rome   A scandal’s impact can be measured multiple ways, with the most obvious being the toll it takes in terms of bad press, litigation and settlements, declining attendance or market share, as well as disillusionment and outrage among the rank and file. What’s often harder to assess is the opportunity cost – what…

Elise Harris   While many in conservative camps of the Church feared sweeping changes to the structure and function of the Synod of Bishops following the tumultuous 2014-2015 gatherings on the family, Pope Francis largely upheld the current process. Critics who have been frustrated at the current process, however, might also be disappointed that no…