Dear Editor, I note Peter Costello’s faint praise of the noted Marian theologian, Fr Rene Laurentin with reference to Medugorje! “He is perhaps as reliable and as well informed a writer as can be found these days” but “what he says does not always carry conviction, as in the case of Medugorje”. Seemingly, he is…

Dear Editor, In relation to the article ‘Solidarity with persecuted Christian minorities’ (IC August 14), Trócaire is gravely concerned about the suffering being endured by Christians and other religious minorities across northern Iraq and Syria. Trócaire has committed humanitarian aid to respond to the urgent needs of civilians from minority communities in northern Iraq, including…

Dear Editor, I want to say that I disagree with the recent Vatican restriction on the Sign of Peace in Mass. I cannot see what is wrong with the priest coming down from the altar to greet the people. I think that the Vatican should look more closely at the Gospels and rule accordingly. In…

Dear Editor, At the recent Memorial Mass for the Irish men who died in World War I, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin said they had pursued an ‘ideal’. How can this ideal possibly be consistent with the non-violent teachings of Jesus and thus the Will of God? The Pope at the time, Benedict XV, said to the…

Dear Editor, I read with amazement the letter from Fr John McCallion (Letters, August 7) about the need for hospital chaplains. I agree that the provision of chaplains and pastoral care can be a great comfort for patients and their families. I am a secondary school teacher who in the past has worked in Ireland…

Dear Editor, I am a Catholic lay person in the Diocese of Ardagh and Clonmacnois, and I have been involved in the pro-life movement for over 30 years. Each week I receive a good number of pro-life bulletins, newsletters, updates, e-mails and fundraising appeals. As far back as 1986, I noticed that some Catholic pro-life…

Dear Editor, Over the past number of years the Christian communities in many countries such as Nigeria, Iraq, Bangladesh and others have been enduring severe persecution. The terrible plight of the Christian community of the town of Quaraquosh in Iraq at present is but the latest example of that persecution. It is estimated that 50,000…

Dear Editor, I also share Mr Kieron Wood’s concern (Letters, Aug 7) that words such as “consubstantiation” would not be understood by ordinary Massgoers, but he can rest assured that it doesn’t appear in the new translation of the Ordinary Form of the Mass.  The question now is should Mr Wood seek ‘forgiveness’ or ‘remission’…

Dear Editor, I find it astonishing that a Government which pretends to reflect all religions and none should adopt a Christian symbol to commemorate Irish dead in the First World War. I can only describe it as outstanding hypocrisy. I also object to the term “sacrifice” in this context. The deaths of the soldiers in…

Dear Editor, May we ourselves be the change we wish to see in the Church and indeed the world? Too often we want to change only that external to ourselves, and to seek “inclusivity” only to facilitate our own exclusive opinion and positions, and may indeed while calling for inclusivity, be quite exclusive and self-centred…