There is a new dimension at play as the Church in Ireland seeks to come to terms with the latest round of outrage in regard to past abuses. In the intervening years, partly in response to the need for specialist expertise but also due to the decline of numbers of priests and religious, many Catholic…

Safeguarding Sunday has become a regular feature on the calendar of the Archdiocese of Dublin. The idea is to ensure that parishes and communities are acutely aware that the safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults was not a single moment or piece of work that was undertaken in reaction to sickening abuse reports, but the…

The Scoping Inquiry into Historical Sexual Abuse in Schools run by Religious Orders has rightly generated a response of revulsion at the horrific acts perpetrated across the country. The inquiry reveals abuse on a large scale. No amount of context can mask the fact that 2,395 allegations of abuse have been made across 308 schools…

Our readers are likely, by now, to be familiar with the offensive, and some may say, racist, section in a Junior Certificate textbook that depicted a ‘traditional’ Irish family as a plastic Paddy-type trope in contrast to a multi-cultural uber-progressive family. The publishers, EdCo – the Educational Company of Ireland – has apologised for this…

The announcement last week that Amnesty International Ireland is planning to lay off the majority of its staff due to encountering a severe financial crisis is sad news for the individuals concerned. Amnesty International is a celebrated international organisation that built its reputation on being a defender of human rights, supporting and advocating for the…

The release by the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy for Life of a new booklet on end-of-life issues ‘Small Lexicon on End of Life’ comes at a time when the final stages of life are subject to increasing scrutiny – both in Ireland and abroad. The booklet continues to offer a clear “no” to euthanasia and assisted…

It is 2024. Ireland is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, one of the most educated populations, running a budget surplus with a stable democracy and solid tax-base, yet repeatedly we are hearing that Ireland’s state care system for children is in a state of crisis. Most recently, we learned that Department of…

The Office of the Ombudsman for Children Office marked its 20th anniversary this year with a survey – and given their focus, they decided: “who better to ask than those we work for, the children of Ireland, how that future should look and what we, as defenders of children’s rights, should be prioritising?” Yes, it…

In 2018, Ireland ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities after over a decade of procrastination. The argument was that the Government did not want to make international commitments until it was ready to do so. Since then, progress on disability rights has been, to say the least, miserable. On January…

Reek Sunday took place on Sunday last, the final Sunday of July as usual. The crowds were big. As usual. Mass was said every hour from dawn until dusk at the top of the mountain. Those climbing the iconic mountain do so on the back of a 1,500 year history of pilgrimage. Many that climb…