Synod asks for lived experiences without listening to the answers Dear Editor, After twenty years within the Irish Catholic Church — and the equivalent time within the German Catholic Church — I have lost hope in many ways. The further I can move away from institutional Church life, the happier I think I am. After…
Category: Letters
Everything I know about Canada, I learned on the bus
I arrived in Canada in mid-January. A few days later, I headed to a government office to get my first monthly Senior Bus Pass. I went armed with evidence that I was eligible; passport, driving licence, every proof I could think of. The assistant didn’t look at any of my IDs but proceeded to issue…
Letters
Towards a truly universal ‘zero tolerance’ of family abuse Dear Editor, The recent correspondence regarding the complexities of the Irish family law system, alongside comments from various public representatives and legal professionals, invites a necessary reflection on the nature of abuse and our collective duty to protect children. While the pain expressed by mothers who…
Seeking justice from the Supreme Court for abused children
There are times when the challenges of daily life sadden and discourage us, even when we are doing our very best to serve and help the needy. Many believers find encouragement in the inspiring words of Jesus of Nazareth. He said to not lose heart, but to have a stronger conviction that trying your best…
Letters
Disengagement and discomfort: what national surveys on education really illuminate Dear Editor, Much has been made of the headline claim that a majority wish to retain the current school ethos. Yet a closer reading of the national survey tells a rather different—and more uncomfortable—story. Within denominational schools themselves, around 40% of parents expressed a preference…
Letters of the Weeks
‘The New Evangelisation’ in Ireland Dear Editor, I write to comment on Pedro Esteva’s interesting article on new style formation for student priests at Maynooth (The Irish Catholic, April 2). There are many excellent ideas in the article; e.g. that formation should include such topics as parish finances, communication and team building, collaborative leadership and…
Letters of the week
Who threatens freedom of the press? Dear Editor, Michael Sanfey’s most informative report on the recent European conference of journalism and media freedom quotes one of the participants as warning against the influence that readers can exert on the media, thus compromising freedom of speech. The speaker offered as an example the fact that The…
Letters of the week
Apologetics: the missing dimension of evangelisation Dear Editor, One necessary dimension of evangelisation seems absent from the articles of Fr Eamonn Conway and Fr Billy Swan in The Irish Catholic (March 12) – that of apologetics. Two scenarios indicate its necessity. Firstly, one quotation from Nicholas Cuddihy’s article (p. 17) concerning schools designated as Catholic:…
Letters of the week
The immorality of the ‘triple lock’ Dear Editor, David Quinn is one of the finest writers in Ireland today, but I was surprised at the naiveté of his recent piece supporting the so-called ‘triple lock’ (IC, February 26). In simple terms the ‘triple lock’ requires the permission of the UN Security Council before the Irish…
Letters of the Week
Dear Editor, Garry O’Sullivan makes valuable points concerning the accountability of deceased clerical sexual abusers (in the February 12 edition of The Irish Catholic). From the perspective of our Catholic Christian faith, death is not the end for impenitent clergy who, for whatever reasons, evaded earthly justice. I am writing as a priest now who,…