Dear Editor, In Catholic circles mention the words ‘torchlight procession’ and most will think of Lourdes, southern France, where Our Lady appeared more than a dozen times to a 14-year-old peasant girl, Bernadette Soubirous in 1858. In this little French town since then a public Torchlight Procession takes place every night, with pilgrims from all…
Dear Editor, It was wonderful to see over 100 people attending a Catholic retreat in University College Dublin, reported on in your paper (IC 23/01/2020). I believe universities in Ireland are a difficult place for students to openly speak about and practice their Faith, a view that is most certainly shared by many. Looking at…
Dear Editor, Regarding the front page of your paper (IC 16/01/2020), I read with alarm the decision made by authorities in Mary Immaculate College in Limerick to disallow the Certificate of Christian Ethics in Healthcare being made available. Hospital chaplains clearly showed ample interest in the development of the programme – which led to it…
Dear Editor, Fr John Harris penned an excellent article highlighting issues that need to be addressed by the Catholic leadership in Ireland (IC 16/01/2020), the importance of preaching to those “Catholics” in the pews who have yet to really listen to the Gospel and convert to Christ. And the additional lesson from the life of…
Dear Editor, It was refreshing to read your comment piece (IC 16/1/20) about the need to set aside old-fashioned political loyalties in the context of next month’s general election. Far too many people with deeply-held religious beliefs are willing to leave them at the door when they go to the polling booth. Both the main…
Dear Editor, Fr Ron Rolheiser’s article (IC 09/01/20) about proofs for the existence of God makes an interesting reading. Obviously, proof of the existence of God will not be found on a sheet of paper and so his article is flawed in that respect. God will not be found either among the intellectuals and the…
Dear Editor, Every year we have Catholic schools week, a week in which we celebrate the importance of the Catholic ethos of our Church-run schools. Lofty words are spoken about the importance of our Catholic values in the education of the young. But the test of those words in the near future will be the…
Dear Editor, After reading Bairbre Cahill’s piece on ‘It’s time to end the sacramental production line’ (IC 12/12/19) I can only give you my own experience. Could I suggest that we bring the preparation into the schools rather than taking it out? I was one of those parents who just brought their children for sacraments…
Dear Editor, David Quinn writes that it’s up to individual people and parish communities to revive the Church in Ireland (IC 19/12/19) rather than the Pope – I think he’s spot on. It’s true that Francis is probably one of the most popular Pontiffs among the secular public but this won’t put people in the…
Dear Editor, I read that according to a recent poll, most Americans support life in jail over the death penalty (IC 05/12/19). At its root, this perspective is based on the idea that every single person has intrinsic human dignity independent of their behaviour. It doesn’t matter if you’re a thief or a murderer; you…