In the Hebrew Scriptures, that part of the Bible we call the Old Testament, we find a strong religious challenge to always welcome the stranger, the foreigner. This was emphasised for two reasons: first, because the Jewish people themselves had once been foreigners and immigrants. Their Scriptures kept reminding them not to forget that. Second,…

David Quinn offers an analysis of the Irish Church for the new papal nuncio   First of all, welcome to Ireland. You arrive at a crucial point in the history of the Catholic Church in this country. Everyone wishes you well in your new job although there will be many different opinions as to what…

Mary Kenny writes that “we are in much darker, much more distressing territory” as the conflict surrounding abortion continues Those organising the campaign to repeal the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution – which recognises the unborn as a human life – are hoping to follow the example, and the success, of the same-sex marriage referendum.…

Fine Gael fig-leaf gathering is arousing more than a little suspicion, writes Paul Keenan From the outset, there have been those voices who argue that the current Citizens’ Assembly, rather than giving voice to the popular will, was actually a diversionary tactic to shift the blame for any move towards introducing abortion to Ireland from…

Every Republican president since and including Richard Nixon, with the possible exception of the first President Bush, has caused huge controversy. Even before Watergate, Nixon was a controversial figure, in no small part because the US was embroiled in the Vietnam War, an entanglement begun under President Kennedy. Reagan was controversial because of his hardline…

One of the dangers inherent in trying to live out a life of Christian fidelity is that we are prone to become embittered moralisers, older brothers of the prodigal son, angry and jealous at God’s over-generous mercy, bitter because persons who wander and stray can so easily access the heavenly banquet table. But this isn’t…

France is facing arguably its most unpredictable election in decades. The hugely-unpopular Socialist President François Hollande has declined to run for a second term after his approval rating with the electorate slumped to just 4%. France, it seems, is eager for change. And in the turbulent world that gave us Britain’s exit from the European…

The French novelist and essayist, Leon Bloy, once made this comment about God’s power in our world: “God seems to have condemned himself until the end of time not to exercise any immediate right of a master over a servant or a king over a subject. We can do what we want. He will defend…

“Fr Flannery is clearly not even remotely on the same page as Pope Francis”, writes Michael Kelly Social Protection Minister Leo Varadkar rebuked the Taoiseach at the weekend after Enda Kenny hinted that Fine Gael might be prepared to enter government with Sinn Féin. “In politics,” Mr Varadkar said, “you have to make compromises to…