Dear Editor, Surely there is no better time than the present to review our diocesan development planning process. If our current lockdown is to be seen as part of God’s plan for our Church, we need to be listening and learning from our very real present experiences. Diocesan development plans need to be working documents…
Dear Editor, I was delighted to see your front page article [IC 16/04/2020] regarding the calls for Sr Clare Crockett to be put on the path to sainthood. Sr Clare’s story is inspirational for us all. Furthermore, I believe her devotion and Faith can be an example for young people today, who are constantly being…
Dear Editor, I welcome David Quinn’s excellent article on the killer, north and south of Ireland, which is not the virus [IC 09/04/2020]. As he states, many, many more will be killed by this virus compared to those through the coronavirus. Where is the outcry about this? Why the silence from so many quarters which are more…
Dear Editor, I was not surprised by the announcement that Cardinal George Pell’s conviction of sexual abuse of minors in the 1990s was quashed by the Australian Supreme Court. Fr Brendan Purcell, who spoke to your paper about it [IC 09/04/2020], hit the nail on the head when he criticised the “disaster” of a judicial…
Dear Editor, It was wonderful to see your front page (IC 2/04/2020) in which prominent GAA figures advocated for the vulnerable during our current pandemic, particularly priests and religious. It is now more than ever that we need to make sure our priests and religious feel they are being looked out for by the parish…
Dear Editor, Many wonderful, good and necessary efforts are being made at this time of crisis, this time of the Covid-19 virus. I thank God for all this, but I wish to add another much needed and very essential effort – a wake-up call; a call to conversion – a call back to the Ten…
Dear Editor, The local and global responses to the coronavirus are interesting, in that, here we have an invisible but real threat seen by its effects. Large efforts and vast resources are being deployed to counter this. I believe Christians and the Church particularly can learn a great deal from this fervour and realisation of…
Dear Editor, I am pleased to see the result of your social media poll (IC 05/03/2020), that 85% of respondents are in favour of the Irish Church not cancelling Masses over coronavirus fears. The overall view, it was reported, is that Mass is needed now in Ireland more than ever. This response echoes the statement…
Dear Editor, I refer to the letter entitled ‘Concern about the future of Accord’ (IC 27/02/2020), which discusses “the decline in the amount of people availing of its marriage and counselling services”. We live in an age where the TV, cinema, and the printed/social media at large frequently portray marriage as a form of mere…
Dear Editor, When I first went to Jaffa, Israel, to work as a chef for an Anglican guest house a different choice of breakfast was offered each morning of the week. One of the choices was homemade pancakes, or crepes, which had to be tossed in a very hot frying pan. Some of the volunteer…