Notebook All the talk and coverage around the Eurovision contest over the last few weeks, brought me back to my youth. I remember sitting at home with my mother, watching the black and white television when Dana won the Eurovision in 1970 from Amsterdam. Only when I looked it up on the internet this week…
Dublin’s Archbishop Dermot Farrell turns 70 later this year. At a time when most of his friends and contemporaries have been retired for several years, he continues to lead the country’s most populous diocese – and arguably the Irish diocese facing the greatest challenges. Soon, Dublin will have twice as many auxiliary bishops – Bishop…
Letter of the week Not to sound sanctimonious, but…. Dear Editor, As communities enjoy the season of welcoming the children who have reached the age of reason to the table, and celebrate their young people answering an invitation to step forward either for Confirmation, or to be blessed, I wonder if, in our talk of…
People have been so distracted by the witchy elements of Ireland’s 2024 entry to the Eurovision Song Contest that they have often overlooked the fact that the key religious symbolism in Bambie Thug’s on-stage and off-stage performance relates to the new belief system of gender identity. Her act for Doomsday Blue blends gender identity belief…
Recently in The Irish Catholic, Fr Niall Leahy SJ mentioned the desire to focus on ministry to young people as one of the reasons that Gardiner Street would no longer function as a parish within the Archdiocese of Dublin. The Jesuits are to be commended for taking this step as young adults are so neglected…
The first thing to be noticed about the survey is the relatively high number of people who said they are going to church once a week or more. It comes in at almost one in four people. The reason that is a surprise is because other polls in recent times have indicated that the number…
It is long overdue to tackle the false prophets, writes Mike Lewis On Tuesday, May 7, the Vatican Press Office announced that a press conference will be held on May 17 where the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) will present a new document containing provisions for discerning the authenticity of claimed apparitions…
When it comes to private companies receiving state funding, surely one of the first things the Government should insist on is a cost-benefit analysis. Sadly, the opposite is happening when it comes to assisting couples struggling to conceive. Last September the Government introduced a state subsidy for IVF for eligible couples. Since then around 500…
When I was a teenager – maybe about 16 – a friend and I decided to follow a fad of “decadence”. We weren’t all that sure what “decadence” was, but we knew it had little to do with normal life in our then cosy village of Sandymount in Dublin. But teenagers soon find out about…
Alan Whelan The recent International Catholic GRACE Report pointed out that 35% of Irish Catholic school teachers do not believe in God and that only 48% of Catholic Religious Education teachers attend weekly Mass. Meanwhile there is the Dublin Archdiocese decision of a very few years ago that sacramental preparation should be more firmly placed…
Breda O'Brien
David Quinn
Wendy Grace
Mary Kenny