Discussing vocations to the priesthood and religious life in the Church in Ireland is a subject that oddly causes friction and exposes a lot of underlying sensitivity. This is evidenced by our front page story this week where some members of religious orders have expressed disappointment that the forthcoming ‘Year of Vocations’ will focus on…

The memory of 23-year-old Aidan McAnespie will surely live on in the annals of history: his life, and tragic death, have assumed considerable significance. A stone tablet has been erected on the spot at Auchnacloy, Co. Tyrone, which commemorates him, noting that he was ‘MURDERED at this spot by Crown Forces’ on February 21, 1988.…

Last June, in a boost to the pro-life movement worldwide, Roe v Wade was overturned by the US Supreme Court. As delighted right-to-life activists celebrated, much of the media commentary in Ireland expressed dismay and warned that women would suffer if abortion was made illegal. Those reports ignored the reality on the ground in the United…

We are moving towards a society that will no longer be liberal in any true sense, writes David Quinn Enoch Burke must by now be the most famous teacher in Ireland, and possibly in the history of the Irish State. Mr Burke has been in the news for weeks due to his showdown with his…

Politicians are shamefully trying to outsource life and death decisions, writes Eilis Mulroy As a representative democracy, we elect our TDs to represent our views and interests in the Dáil. There is a considerable degree of trust and confidence placed on the shoulders of our politicians, who are equally responsible to the wishes of their…

While news agencies and Catholic social media denizens these days gorge themselves on the Vatican’s mounting “Battle of the Books,” seeing who can craft the most sensational headlines or tweets about several controversial new volumes making the rounds, other outfits are, thankfully, still concerned with things that actually matter. Such is the case, for instance,…

Cindy Wooden Public criticism by cardinals and bishops is annoying – “like a rash that bothers you a bit,” Pope Francis said – but differences need to be aired and criticism can be helpful, he told the Associated Press. “You prefer that they don’t criticise, for the sake of tranquility,” he said in the interview…

The Enoch Burke case has been in the public eye for some time now. He was a teacher at Wilson’s Hospital Secondary School in Westmeath when controversy arose last year over his refusal to call a pupil by their preferred pronoun of ‘they’. He has been vilified by secular media for daring to refuse to…

Every year the week of prayer for Christian unity comes and goes. Traditionally, the week is celebrated between January 18-25, and is greeted with varying degrees of enthusiasm. If we’re honest, most of us pay little more than lip service to the commemoration. Coming as it does so close after Christmas, many parishes find themselves…