Category: Opinion

‘Blessed are the peace-makers’

Fr Kevin Mullan lived out his priesthood in the service of others writes Michael Kelly Like many people across the island of Ireland, I was sad to awake on Saturday morning to the news that Fr Kevin Mullan had died during the night. It brought to mind the words from the Second Book of Samuel:…

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Education can’t be ‘value-free’ on pornography

Parents should demand to see the content of education on porn, writes Fr Chris Hayden A couple of months ago, an episode of RTÉ’s ‘Upfront’ programme with Katie Hannon caused consternation, with many viewers expressing surprise at how widespread pornography has become, and at how many children are viewing it. The facts are indeed troubling,…

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Now is not a time to lose our nerve

A co-responsible Church will only thrive if priests facilitate, nurture and encourage it, writes Bishop Niall Coll The line from Scripture which I chose recently as my episcopal motto springs readily to mind – ‘Christ Jesus our hope’. It is in our shared hope, in our faith as it looks to the future, that we…

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Religious Freedom Commission calls out India, Nigeria and Vietnam for abuses

John Lavenburg A US-government commission tasked with monitoring religious freedom abroad has recommended the State Department designate five new countries as “Countries of Particular Concern (CPCs)” because of their engagement in, or toleration of, “particularly severe” religious freedom violations, including against Christians. In its 2023 report released on May 1, the United States Commission on…

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Diminishing the value of human life

Dear Editor, Jason Osborne reported [The Irish Catholic – April 27, 2023] that pro-life politicians criticised the review of the State’s abortion law claiming that some of its recommendations violated a promise given at the time of the referendum. Mattie McGrath, for example, said “the report resembles the slippery slope that I and my colleagues warned about…

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The sin or the sinner – a knotty question

The legendary French feminist Simone de Beauvoir has been removed from a list of female candidates to be honoured in sculpture at Trinity College Dublin’s Old Library. When it emerged that De Beauvoir, who died in 1986, was accused of grooming young female students as lovers – whom she apparently passed on to her veteran…

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