“there does appear to be something in Catholicism in America that is not present in many Irish parishes”, writes Michael Kelly I’m writing from the United States where I am attending the Religious Education Congress of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Irish Catholics who attend Mass in the US often return with memories of the…

“Conscience has to be understood more widely than the mere deification of feelings or obedience to a dominant orthodoxy”, writes Editor Michael Kelly By the time most people read this, the general election will be over. At least the vote-casting part of it. All but a few seats will be decided, and it will be…

“It’s good to see the Catholic Church laying claim to this heritage of caring for creation”, writes Mary Kenny I heard a sincere and impassioned sermon in Dublin at the weekend in which the priest spoke about defending the environment: this, he said, was following in the footsteps of Pope Francis and St Francis himself.…

Fr Seán Healy General Election 2016 comes at a critical moment for Ireland. Decisions made in the next Dáil will have major impacts on Irish people and shape the future for a considerable time to come. Whether or not the decisions of the next Government produce a just and sustainable future depends on those elected…

The public should make prostitution and sex trafficking ‘doorstep issues’ in the upcoming election, writes Sarah Benson Since its foundation, Ruhama has supported thousands of women affected by prostitution and sex trafficking in Ireland. Every day in our work we see first-hand the harm that sexual exploitation does to women and girls. We support women…

Fr Donal Dorr Pope Francis, in his encyclical letter on the environment, Laudato Si’, makes a passionate appeal to us to protect the fragile Earth and the poorest of people. He warns us that our call to be protectors of God’s creation “is not an optional or a secondary aspect of Christian faith”. He says…

Dr Tom Finegan Catholic social and moral teaching affirms the central importance of marriage for both individual persons and wider society as the bedrock upon which society is built. Catholic social and moral teaching further affirms the duty of governments to protect and promote marriage and family life through law and policy. A general election…

The next Government should commit to ending family homelessness, writes Sr Stan Kennedy The housing and homeless crisis is one of the greatest social and economic challenges faced by our society and that the next Government will responsible for tackling. Focus Ireland wants to say loud and clear to every candidate standing in this General…

Election candidates should be committed to increasing aid, writes Eamonn Meehan It is important that Ireland’s new Government does what it can to protect the poorest and most vulnerable people in the developing world. As Ireland rebuilds itself after our economic crash we must ask what type of a society we want. I would hope…

Dr John Murray Who is the primary educator of children, their parents or the State? Is it wrong for the Catholic Church to have any control or input in schools that are publicly funded? Should Ireland’s schools, including Catholic schools, teach that all religions and belief systems are the same? Such questions are important at…