The Church understands that demonic possession is very rare, writes David Quinn The most famous horror movie ever made is probably The Exorcist, which was released in 1973 causing a worldwide sensation and drawing huge crowds to watch it. The director of the movie, William Friedkin, died last week aged 87. Mr Friedkin himself was…
Cindy Wooden With the approach of the assembly of the Synod of Bishops, a major event in the pontificate of Pope Francis, it was surprising that the Pope did not use the word ‘synod’ or ‘synodality’ in any of his talks to the 1.5 million young people gathered in Portugal for World Youth Day. If…
The bigger job of synod organisers is to engage young people in the first place, writes Chris Altieri For an entire generation of young people – some of them misfits and some cool kids, some convinced Catholics but also plenty of folks on the fence and free-spirited seekers – Pope Francis at the recent World…
My apologies if the tone of my contribution this month is a little depressing, but I hope there might be a more positive ending! In recent weeks I have been very conscious of people being filled with fear. Our TV news bulletins have been filled with images of terrified people caught up in natural disasters.…
Dear Editor, I write to express my heartfelt agreement with the sentiment that Fr Edward J. Flanagan should indeed be put on the path to sainthood [The Irish Catholic – August 3, 2023]. His remarkable life and selfless dedication to the welfare of vulnerable children, regardless of their skin colour, resonate as a beacon of…
The Department of Foreign Affairs proudly tweeted recently how Ireland was celebrating fifty years of having lifted the “marriage bar” for women working in the public service – with the support of the EU and its march towards equality. Yes, I remember that situation well: women, on marriage, had been required to step down from…
Nobody should be forced to pay for a service they do not want. People should certainly not be required to fund obscene salaries and political activism under threat of imprisonment. There is no longer any need to force everyone with a television to pay for RTÉ. Instead, only those who wish to actually watch RTÉ…
At the end of the 2007 movie Charley Wilson’s War, about how covert American support for the mujahadeen in Afghanistan helped bring down the Soviet empire, a quote appears from the real Texas congressman played in the film by Tom Hanks: “All these things happened, and they were glorious and they changed the world.” “Then,…
Judith Sudilovsky The Stella Maris Carmelite monastery has seen destruction and banishment over its centuries’-old history, dating back to the mid-13th Century. The recent attempts by a group of Jewish religious extremists to declare the monastery a Jewish holy site has however, for the first time, led to the monks installing metal fencing around its…
Dear Editor, I was, like most people, horrified at the treatment of the young calves at marts around the country as portrayed on the national news and shown on the Prime Time Investigates programme aired on RTÉ, Monday, July 10. These young calves are going to slaughter (something that is not spoken about, the presenter…
David Quinn
Mary Kenny
John L. Allen Jr.