“Besides all this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.” Abraham speaks these words to a soul in Hell in the famous parable of the Rich Man and…
Category: Comment & Analysis
‘Men’s Sheds for the soul?’
The Notebook Fr Vincent Sherlock For 21 years I have had the chance to spend a few weeks each year in a parish in the diocese of Rockville Centre, New York – two years in one and the past 19 in another. It seems strange perhaps to combine holidays with working in a parish…
The book that supposedly depicts Ireland today
Every now and again, a novel, a movie or a television programme becomes a major conversational theme, enjoying a wave of fashion and acclaim. Such a book is Sally Rooney’s Normal People – a contender for the prestigious Booker Prize, and the novel that is a “must-read” if you want to keep up with the…
McCarrick – the real choices
Popes Benedict and Francis’ failure to impose sanctions on then-Cardinal McCarrick was understandable, writes Austen Ivereigh Whatever your view of Archbishop Viganò now — a prophet raised up by God to purify the leadership of the Church, or a vengeful and mendacious official driven by ideology — the question of what Popes did or…
Protecting the unborn without the shield of law
The View Saturday night last saw a great turn out at the fourth annual pro-life dinner, Ceiliuradh Cois Life, organised by Senator Ronan Mullen and the Pro Life Campaign. Over 750 people gathered together for food and music and to hear former Taoiseach John Bruton speak. In some ways, it was a difficult gathering…
Pope needs a chance to try reaching out in new ways
Francis is no bringer of ‘doctrinal apocalypse’, writes David Quinn Pope Francis does not represent the doctrinal apocalypse as some conservatives seem to think. I say that as someone who is himself a conservative and therefore would be quick to ring the alarm bells if I thought a Pope was about to water down…
Chastity & love
“Woe to chastity that is not practiced out of love, but woe to love that excludes chastity.” These are the words of Benoit Standaert, a Benedictine monk, and they can, I believe, be profitably read in our culture today where to the detriment of everyone, the sexually active and vowed celibates alike, sexuality and chastity…
WMOF delivered the perfect slogan for the Church
The Notebook Fr Conor McDonough An awful lot has happened in the Church since the World Meeting of Families just two short weeks ago. When that fact is combined with the muted response to the event itself on the part of many Irish people, there is a danger that believers who participated joyfully in…
Alice Leahy deserves an honour…from her own country
There could hardly be a more worthy recipient of an international honour and human rights award than Alice Leahy, who has just received such an award presented by the International Care Ethics Observatory. Alice is usually described as a “homelessness campaigner”, but she is much more than that. She is also a carer for homeless…
Answering the true Christian call
Francis wants a moral revolution, writes David Quinn The Gospel reading at Mass last Sunday is one of the most famous. In it, Jesus condemns the Pharisees for burdening people with man-made customs. He tells them (Mark 7:8): “You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions…

Fr Ronald Rolheiser

Mary Kenny
Austen Ivereigh
Maria Steen
David Quinn



