Dear Editor, No doubt there will be some think Bishop McAreavey over the top in describing as “outrageous” the Dáil’s failure to condemn as genocide the persecution of Christians in the Middle East, but I am not among them. The bishop is absolutely right to call the scope of the Dáil motion on the activities…

Dear Editor, It seems, to judge by your letters page and comment online in recent months, that there is a depressing determination among otherwise informed and faithful Catholics to turn their backs on the modern world. Perhaps the three most dramatic and obvious illustrations of this have been Catholic support for the Brexit vote in…

Dear Editor, Your correspondent Declan Cooney (Letters IC 01/12/2016) took Fr Gerry O’Hanlon to task for bemoaning the election of the Republican candidate as President of the USA. In doing so he repeated the “there was no other alternative [to Hilary Clinton]” argument which has already been trotted out – and refuted – ad nauseum.  There…

Dear Editor,  In a culture of ignorance or indifference to the mystery of Jesus Christ may I suggest some reflections inspired by God’s communication with us, beginning with the call of Abraham to become the father of the Jewish chosen people, God’s inspiration of messengers/prophets to go among the people and to begin writing the…

Dear Editor, There isn’t much joy manifested in Greg Daly’s experience at the AGM of the Association of Catholic Priests as outlined in his article ‘Priests at risk: problems and practicalities’ (IC 24/11/16). Considering that many of these problems are caused by a lack of vocations to the priesthood it is surprising that no mention…

Dear Editor, In 2017 or 2018, we can expect to have a referendum on repealing the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution (or the rights of the unborn). While there is an opinion that abortion is acceptable in exceptional circumstances, the questions foremost in my mind must be the following: Why is it an indictable offence…

Dear Editor, Like many, I see no theoretical reason for celibacy in the case of secular priests. However, given the low salaries paid, how are the costs of a priest’s wife and family to be met let alone the problem of increasing the scale of property owned by the diocese or parish in order to…

Dear Editor, In the regime presided over by Fidel Castro only one political party was tolerated – the Communist Party. Freedom of expression and of speech was, in effect, non-existent. Persons who were not members of the Communist Party found themselves under surveillance by the secret police.  Journalists and writers were subject to arbitrary arrest…

Dear Editor, I love reading Mary Kenny’s articles as she is not afraid to say her mind.  Having read her ‘Achilles heel’ article about President Higgins and his “seeming reluctance to revisit any past pronouncements on the state of Venezuela and its late leader Hugo Chavez” and the “appalling poverty, hunger, cruelty and injustice” there…

Dear Editor, Your feature letter from Ms Bernadette Fitzgerald in the edition of November 24 (“Why Catholics should welcome Trump”) repeats the idea that, as long as a person is pro-life (i.e., specifically opposed to abortion), this alone trumps (no pun intended) all faults. This is utter nonsense. First, let me be clear, I am…