“Tolerance and esteem for other cultures should be automatically part of a decent education”, writes Mary Kenny According to Dr Victoria Showunmi at Maynooth University, the teaching of history and other subjects in Ireland should be adjusted to reflect the cultures and experiences of new immigrants. Schools and colleges should offer a curriculum that doesn’t…

Fr Kevin O’Reilly OP When people object to Catholic influence in healthcare, effectively what they mean is they want the freedom to take human life, writes Fr Kevin O’Reilly OP There have been few people willing and able to speak up in defence of the Religious Sisters of Charity. The sisters have had to endure…

In the wake of the London attacks by radical Islamists, Theresa May has said, “enough is enough”. But how does one counter a movement so loosely organised that it scarcely even deserves the term? Or an ideology which relies on lone agents or small numbers of attackers and on the use of vehicles and knives as…

World Meeting of Families must proclaim the truth with charity and clarity, writes David Quinn Every moral act has two main components, the objective and the subjective. Here’s an example. If someone steals, what they have done is wrong. The act of stealing is wrong in itself, objectively wrong. But the person might be starving.…

Right now, it doesn’t seem much like hyperbole to say the political relationship between the United States and Europe appears to be on the brink of unravelling. At the very least, ties across the Atlantic are facing serious new strains. Last week, US President Donald Trump announced a pull-out from the Paris climate change agreement,…

Addressing one of his favourite topics, Pope Francis spoke energetically over Pentecost weekend to huge crowds at the Circus Maximus and at St Peter’s Square of the creative power of the Holy Spirit to unify through diversity, while bringing peace, joy and courage. Following three hours of high-octane praise and testimonies in many languages under…

John of the Cross teaches that within spirituality and morality there are no exempt areas. Simply put, you cannot be a saint or a highly moral person if you allow yourself a moral exemption or two. Thus, I may not allow myself to split off one moral flaw or sinful habit and see it as…

Fr Vincent Sherlock “It clears your mind and eases stress”, she told me. She wasn’t alone! Nearly every child in the class had some variant of the stress reliever and mind-clearer in hand as well. They were in a variety of colours and one even glowed in the dark. Thankfully I was in touch enough to…

Roger Childs During the nine years I have been in my present role as Genre Head of RTÉ Religious Programmes, the continued broadcasting of Angelus chimes on RTÉ Radio One and RTÉ One television, has been debated a number of times in a number of different settings, from the letters pages of newspapers, to local and national…

“It is vital that the past is excavated and that past abuses are exposed and those who were abused listened to”, writes Michael Kelly This week saw yet another damning report on the failure to protect vulnerable Irish children. Amongst the findings was the fact that children were left in foster homes despite credible evidence…