We have a Government that does not like public debate going out of their control, writes David Quinn The Russians are Coming, The Russians are Coming’ was the name of a movie that came out in 1966. It was a spoof that played on American paranoia about Russia and communism. Of course, there was a…
Letter from Rome It was an otherwise quiet day on March 15, 2008, when an unemployed 77-year-old Russian man walked unannounced and unaccompanied through the main entrance to the Basilica of St Francis in the hillside Italian city of Assisi, quietly hoping to mill around and soak in the atmosphere. Perhaps unfortunately for him, that…
Quinton Amundson According to the Catholic Civil Rights League’s database, at least 85 Catholic churches have been set ablaze or vandalised since the unproven discovery May 27, 2021, of 215 suspected unmarked graves near the former Kamloops Indian Residential School. Police are investigating the latest victimised house of worship, St Gabriel Catholic Mission Church in…
Public sector unions can rightly be pleased with the 10.25% pay increase that they secured from the Government for their members late last week. Now, one in every three Euro raised in taxes is being spent on public sector pay and pensions. The Government has, so far, been tight-lipped on long-awaited ‘reforms’ and ‘efficiencies’ that…
Notebook In last week’s notebook, Fr Bernard Cotter raised some interesting questions about the Sacrament of Confirmation. His reflections followed on from a recent meeting with parents of the candidates for Confirmation and parish personnel. The meeting seemed to lack any enthusiasm from the parents to such an extent that the person who chaired the…
Dear Editor, I read with great interest the interventions of my learned brother Prof. Tom Whelan. Fr Tom is very right that the local Catholics in these territories need the priests ‘ten times more than we do’. I am very much aware that my brother being versed in liturgy knows more than I do that…
What do the Scottish poet Robbie Burns and St Paul the Evangelist have in common? As I’ve only recently learned, they share January 25 as their special day. The Scots eat haggis and drink whisky on ‘Burns Night’ to commemorate their national bard, who so memorably authored ‘Auld Lang Syne’, and ‘To a Mouse’. St…
Family is a key Catholic value, so why don’t we hear more from the Church on family homes? writes Michael Kelly I only met former Taoiseach Garret Fitzgerald once in my life. It was in late 2007, and though out of office for more than 20 years at that stage, he swiftly proceeded to give…
We have a Government that does not like public debate going out of their control, writes David Quinn There is misinformation, disinformation and one I would like to add to that list, namely under-information. All three of these things can badly distort the public’s understanding of any given issue. Imagine this as an Agatha Christie…
Patricia Casey The sexual abuse of children by priests has been a huge stain on the life of the Catholic Church, particularly in Ireland, the United States and parts of Europe. It has damaged the wellbeing of its victims, leading some to take their own lives. It has ruined the reputation of Catholicism in…
David Quinn
John L. Allen Jr.
Mary Kenny
Michael Kelly