Dear Editor, In response to a letter, ‘Catholics, faith and the Francis effect’, (IC 16/1/14), the doubt was expressed, would people fall away from their faith when Pope Francis dies and is replaced by someone with perhaps different abilities. There is little doubt that Pope Francis’ powerful charisms have the ability to touch both Christians…

Dear Editor, It is not just pro-life groups but all of us that should be concerned that most of our main political parties reject the notion of allowing for a freedom of conscience in voting on such social issues as abortion. Sinn Féin like others before, lost an opportunity to be seen as a party that…

Dear Editor, Regarding David Quinn’s article, ‘The chattering class and its enemies’, (IC 13/2/14). He complains of no counter-balancing interviews on RTÉ in the euthanasia debate. May I direct his attention to The God Slot of Friday, October 18, 2013, on RTÉ Radio 1, which was acknowledged by no less an authority as Brendan O’Regan as…

Dear Editor, As Church we are enriched enormously through the gift that is the leadership and inspiration of Pope Francis.  However, a gift is useless unless we accept, embrace and utilise it to the full.  In realising the fullness of that giftedness, we will be aware that Pope Francis himself points us to the giftedness…

Dear Editor, What an excellent piece on Latterday Latin Classics by your books editor (IC 20/2/14). But I have to disagree with your editor that Catholic lovers of Latin see the language only as a way of preserving religious tradition. A knowledge of Latin is also vital to understanding the source of English words, such…

Dear Editor, The purpose of the Church is not to reflect secular culture but to evangelise it. Christ charged us to go forth to all the nations and spread the Gospel. This adherence to perennial truth, in the service of he who is the Truth, is radically contrary to contemporary relativism. The contrast was exemplified…

Dear Editor, One of the questions connected with the idea of same-sex marriage is that of same-sex couples raising children. This, I suggest, is an issue where the sexual orientation of the adults can be quite irrelevant. Unusually perhaps, my father and his brother married twin sisters.  At one time in my childhood, my mother…

Dear Editor, Andrew O'Connell is to be commended on his article ‘The crime of gossip’ (IC 6/2/14) I commented recently that the Church i.e. from our altars, has been lax in this regard.  Since every word Andrew says is true it's quite amazing it's given such a wide berth. Is it because everyone contributes to the…

Dear Editor, Whatever her personal views on same-sex marriage may be, Sarah Carey, in her article of February 6, displays a quality of reasoning and logic (especially in her criticism of the reaction of the pro-same-sex marriage lobby to the recent case involving RTÉ and some prominent pro-traditional marriage supporters) that is all too often…

Dear Editor, In The Irish Catholic of February 13 a spokesperson for the Iona Institute is reported as saying that the group’s "opposition to same-sex marriage is based on the belief that marriage is a child-centred institution first and foremost …". It follows from this, that motherhood and fatherhood and the natural ties are extremely…