The former Abbot of Glenstal Abbey Dom Mark Patrick Hederman provoked the ire of the leadership of the Association of Catholic Priests (ACP) recently when he accused them of being too negative. It’s a charge that’s been levelled against the leadership of the group before and it’s one that they’re understandably sensitive about. It’s a…

Last Thursday afternoon I was grocery shopping with my children in our local Supervalu. Inside the shop, a tall man, who spoke rather loudly with an English accent, was positioned in front of an Amnesty International stand and stopping customers to talk to them. He appeared to be superficially-friendly and was clearly well-used to catching…

It is utterly shocking that an 11 year-old-child, Milly Tuomey, should have taken her own life by suicide. And utterly sorrowful and distressing for the child’s’s family. Following Milly’s tragic death, parents are being encouraged to talk to their children about suicide. Professor Brendan Kelly of TCD says that “There is no evidence that asking…

A pro-life princess would be frowned on, writes David Quinn   The second season of the much-praised Netflix series The Crown is being released this weekend. Over six seasons it intends looking at the entire reign of Queen Elizabeth II, the longest reign in British history. One of the things the series is examining as…

Fr Conor McDonough “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things” (Phil 4:8). This beloved passage often comes to mind when I’m struck by a…

In all healthy people there’s a natural reticence about revealing too much of themselves and a concomitant need to keep certain things secret. Too often we judge this as an unhealthy shyness or, worse, as hiding something bad. But reticence and secrecy can be as much virtue as fault because, as James Hillman puts it,…

Many people were irritated by Bob Geldof’s decision to return his Freedom of the City of Dublin as a protest against the current regime in Myanmar (still sometimes called Burma) and the treatment of the Rohingya people there. The Lord Mayor of Dublin felt, especially, that it was a graceless move, since this honour is…

Liberal Churches lose both members and integrity, writes David Quinn   The Lutheran Church of Sweden is urging its clergy to use gender-neutral language when referring to God and avoid words like ‘Lord’ and ‘he’ and ‘father’. What Martin Luther, after whom the Lutheran Churches are obviously named, would think should be obvious. He would…

We have a duty to stand in solidarity with persecuted believers, writes Dr Michael Kinsella   As 2017 comes to a close, we can reflect upon a year in which the Church marked both the 70th anniversary of the founding of Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) by Fr Werenfried van Straaten and the…

It can be quite disheartening to watch the news these days. Our world is full of hatred, bigotry, racism, and over-stimulated greed and ego. The gap between the rich and poor is widening and random, senseless violence is an everyday occurrence. One lives with hope, but without much optimism. Among all of this, perhaps the…