Dear Editor, It seems that man’s thirst for gossip and a good story is insatiable. Often times a colourful character, of seemingly spectacular deeds, will overshadow the true hero of a story, the memory of whom is often lost on account of the ordinariness that usually constitutes such heroic virtue. Think of St Joseph and…

Dear Editor, The Irish way of doing things is not the universal way, and the Vatican is right to insist that the universal rules about the sign of peace be properly followed. When I attended Mass in Bangkok, the congregation greeted each other with a ‘wai’ – that is by raising their joined hands to…

Dear Editor, There seems to be a strong anti-Catholic bias in RTÉ, very subtle sometimes, and on other occasions quite aggressive in language and tone. The sad story of the young woman with an unwanted pregnancy was the opportunity for RTÉ to rehash the abortion controversy with the finger pointed at the cruelty of pro-life…

Dear Editor, I cannot understand why advocates of abortion are recording the recent controversy as a defeat. The maternal mortality rate for abortions at 24 weeks of pregnancy is over 76 per 100,000, while that figure for a Caesarean is around 13. A Caesarean section is a far safer procedure for a mother than an…

Dear Editor, I cannot agree with Mary Kenny’s statement that some wars are not wrong (IC August 14). To accept Jesus’ teaching of non-violent love of friends and enemies without any buts, one needs to remember that, as Christians, we believe that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, the Saviour who had been promised to the…

Dear Editor, In discussing the abortion issu. what really matters most is that top class unbiased authentic counselling and sympathetic advice are always readily available on the spot. This help was not forthcoming in a hurry with the current controversial case of the young asylum seeker 22 weeks pregnant. In the crazy circumstances, I believe…

Dear Editor, The death of the actor Robin Williams is a terrible tragedy – its impact made all the more severe by his popularity, talent and charismatic character. For people in the clutches of something like a mental illness as powerful as depression it is very hard to find or even fight their way out…

Dear Editor, I once attended a humanist funeral which was mainly about memories of the deceased person. Today Catholic funerals are largely similar, apart from the formal liturgical content. The homily, which is primarily meant to explain the scripture readings, is instead a combination of a eulogy and canonisation decree. Spiritual input generally presumes a…

Dear Editor, I think it is probably important that we mark the death of Canon Mark Diamond, who died on the feast day of Saint Muredach. At a time in the history of Christianity in Ireland which currently seems to be punctuated by a corrosive secular view of the dignity of mankind, he at alltimes…

Dear Editor, A recent article by Mary Kenny (IC August 14) discusses the just war theory of Thomas Aquinas and implores the prudence of our leaders about when to put it into practice. In such matters why don’t we refer such questions directly to Jesus himself? In one of the most solemn moments of his life before…