Dear Editor, The story on Archbishop Michael Neary in The Irish Catholic of November 13 makes for grim reading: “Church has ‘lost the battle’ with secularism”. Sadly, one would have to agree with his assessment. It’s such a pity that our Church leaders did not take heed of our Blessed Mother’s request to have the rosary…

Dear Editor, The death has occurred of Venerable Archdeacon Michael O’Brien, known to a generation of Cork GAA supporters as ‘the Canon’. The people of Cork are saying goodbye to a priest who has served us well; walked with us in our joys, our sorrows and in our everyday lives. He baptised us, prayed with…

Dear Editor, After reading Archbishop Michael Neary’s gloomy conclusion that the Church is losing the battle with secularism (IC 13/11/2014), it was heartening to read David Quinn’s reminder to us, in the same edition, of the successful  role of the Church in the events that led to the fall of the Berlin Wall. The whirlwind…

  Dear Editor, It’s no surprise that Archbishop Victor Manuel Fernández described the Extraordinary Synod of Bishops in glowing terms (‘Rome Synod addresses complexity of the family’ IC 06/11/2014), since he was part of the secretariat responsible for the running of the synod and one of the authors of the final report. Judging by the…

Dear Editor, I was heartened by your recent edition in which Mary Kenny gave a headline to the natural law (‘Natural law exists for a good reason’ IC 30/10/2014). The natural law is an old concept. It extends back to the philosophy of St Thomas and Aristotle. When I studied philosophy of the natural law,…

Dear Editor, Politicians often speak from both corners of their mouths. Church figures who adopt this practice are confusing their role with that of a politician. Though not conducive to a quiet life, their duty is to promote Church teaching, in and out of season, not to conceal it. To adopt the practice of politicians…

Dear Editor, The suspension by the Samaritans of their Samaritans Twitter App on the grounds of invasion of peoples’ privacy, is to be welcomed. The introduction of this app is very disconcerting as the core value of Samaritans is advertised as caller confidentiality. The Samaritans remain a very important and necessary service in Irish society. As…

Dear Editor, An article in the issue of November 6 (‘Archbishop slams synod’s critics’) suggests that Fr Vincent Twomey was the target of a “thinly veiled” public rebuke by Archbishop Diarmuid Martin in relation to the recent Extraordinary Synod. If this was the case then the archbishop was unaware of the broad scope of Fr…

Dear Editor, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin’s reaction (‘Archbishop slams synod’s critics’ IC 06/11/2014) to the published comments of “some commentators within Church circles” who allege that the Synod on the Family cause confusion is revealing. “A longing for certainties” he says “may spring from personal uncertainties rather than strong faith”. This may be true but what of…

Dear Editor, Fr Martin Henry (Notebook, IC 30/10/14) makes the point that the Church is more than buildings, that it is the Body of Christ, “God’s real presence in and among human beings”. In Ireland over the past two centuries, we have a proud tradition in building many beautiful churches. The faithful responded generously and…