The Church is a convenient scapegoat for Ireland’s historical sins, writes David Quinn   Last week I attended a conference at Notre Dame University in the US. Before proceeding to the main topic of this article, a word about Notre Dame itself is in order. When you visit it, one word comes to mind; majestic.…

US laity still have ‘serious partners’ in episcopate, writes Michael W. Higgins   Having barely weathered the media fallout of the McCarrick Affair and the Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report with its indictment of some 300 priests over 70 years with a thousand abuse allegations, the American episcopate is bracing itself for a highly scrutinised meeting…

When is our life fulfilled? At what point in our lives do we say: “That’s it! That’s the climax! Nothing I can do from now on will outdo this. I’ve given what I have to give.” When can we say this? After we’ve reached the peak of our physical health and strength? After giving birth…

“Keep the Poet” was a mantra used by some of Michael D. Higgins’ followers in the course of the presidential election. And the country has indeed kept the bard, although not without challenges (which is as it should be). And now that he is elected the steward of the nation for the next seven years,…

If you were a Christian Democrat, how would you have voted in the recent presidential election? To begin with, you might have looked beyond the candidates on offer and looked to the wider political picture. You might have asked yourself, is there some way to register a protest against the way in which the country…

If you are fed up of seeing advertisements for mince pies and other Christmas items in budget German supermarket chains since September, I have a suggestion. Take a stand against commercialism and start planning your Bright Friday event now for November 23. Bright Friday is the brainchild of Martina Lehane Sheehan. She dreamt it up…

I recently had a weird dream. Basically it went like this. Donald Trump changed his mind and at short notice decided he would visit Ireland on his way back from the World War I celebrations in Paris. The Government was all over the place trying to put all the arrangements in place. It was decided…

I do not want to die from some medical condition; I want to die from death! Ivan Illich wrote that. What’s meant here? Don’t we all die from death? Of course, in reality that’s what we all die from, but in our idea of things, most often, we die from a medical condition or from…

Gabriel Doherty November 1918 is now, of course, best remembered for the signing of the Armistice that ended the fighting of the First World War. As the month broke, however, The Irish Catholic was more immediately concerned with the threat of death from another enemy, with whom no negotiated peace was possible. Fatalities from the…