The Notebook   I am ordained almost 34 years and for over 30 years of that time, I have been doing baptisms all wrong. For that first 30 years, nearly every baptism I did was private. Parents would ring me with the news of a birth and I would make arrangements with them alone. When…

I think, if I were a full-time resident in Ireland these days, I would now be inclined to vote for Fianna Fail. I’m impressed by the way in which party members are emphasising the role of conscience in the debate over repealing the Eighth Amendment. By contrast, it seems deplorable that Fine Gael was so coercive…

The View   It is easy to become despondent given that our political system is contemplating removing rights for the vulnerable and helpless from our Constitution. A clause that protects both mother and baby is now somehow re-classified as discriminatory in a way that is reminiscent of Orwell’s dark masterpiece, Animal Farm, where Squealer can…

We live in a world of deep divisions. Everywhere we see polarisation, people bitterly divided from each other by ideology, politics, economic theory, moral beliefs, and theology. We tend to use over-simplistic categories within which to understand these divisions: the left and the right opposing each other, liberals and conservatives at odds, pro-life vying with…

The Notebook Martin Delaney   Down
 syndrome My face may be different But my feelings the same I laugh and I cry And I take pride in my gains I was sent here among you To teach you to love As God in heavens Looks down from above To him I’m no different His love knows…

There’s an old saying that “the pen is mightier than the sword”, and it is as strikingly true today as it ever has been – if “pen” embraces the use of words in general. People are often judged more by what they say than by what they do. Or even by what other people say…

The View Martin Mansergh   January may be the beginning of a new year. Mostly, it feels like a return to base camp, with life stripped back to its essentials and nature relatively bare. It is a month to be endured. Warmth is comfort; coldness and damp is living in misery. January also tends to…

There are signs that the reality of what repeal would mean in practice is starting to sink in with some politicians, writes Cora Sherlock   The Dáil this week completed its preliminary debate on the report of the Joint Committee on the Eighth Amendment. It’s clear at this stage that a majority of TDs will…

While we can’t build walls between people, unrestricted immigration is not an answer either, writes David Quinn   Globalisation refers to the free movement of both people and goods across borders. Some people are for both types of freedom while others are for either the free movement of goods or the free movement of peoples.…