Dear Editor, The Government is considering plans to extend exclusion zones to any place that might putatively be providing “termination of pregnancy services” and not only those already doing so. The term itself is broad enough to cover everything from an actual abortion clinic all the way down to any local pharmacy that might be…
Category: Opinion
Travelling on fumes
by Fr John Harris OP Notebook The recent tragic events in the village of Creeslough, Co. Donegal reminded me of a journey from a funeral I attended with two friends a long number of years ago in Donegal. We had attended the funeral of a nephew of a mutual friend and were returning to Dublin.…
Unleashing a culture war over Christmas
Editor’s Comment We’re not even in Advent yet, and already it is Christmas time in the marketplace. But, what exactly does Christmas mean to us? Or, what does it mean to our political leaders. That is not a question as simple as it might appear at first glance. Every year we are treated to stunning…
It was a case of never on a Sunday…
The BBC is celebrating its centenary this year – it was founded in 1922 (Radio Éireann, the ancestor of RTÉ, came along in 1926) – and has certainly become an institution with a global outreach. Those who have worked for the Beeb, as it’s sometimes known (which included my late sister, in New York City),…
Giving in to eco-extremists would mean ordinary people could not afford fuel
The View We live in a world which can seem almost as if it is imploding. On the global front we see developments in China which are a cause of great concern as Xi Jinping cements his power; we are watching the systematic destruction of much of Ukraine by Russia; war is being waged in…
The case that changed everything…ten years on
The death of Savita Halappanavar did not justify repeal of the Eighth Amendment, writes David Quinn The road to the repeal of the Eighth Amendment was paved by hard cases, often know by letters like ‘X’ or ‘C’ or ‘D’. The most famous was that of Savita Halappanavar who died in tragic circumstances in Galway…
Where faith is ever-present…but useless
Martin McDonagh’s new film confronts us with the ultimate reality that each and every one of us will die, writes Michael Kelly It’s hard not to be touched by the marvellous beauty on display in The Banshees of Inisherin, which opened at cinemas at the weekend to critical acclaim. This article is not intended to…
Changed, changed utterly: Poland’s embrace of Ukraine
Polish society has been transformed forever by the number of refugees it’s accepted from neighbouring Ukraine, writes Jason Osborne A stroll around the streets of most Polish cities now will see your ears pick up nearly as much Ukrainian as they do Polish. In my case, the city of Szczecin in Poland’s north-west, a walk…
Vatican and China renew their agreement on appointing bishops
by Cindy Wooden Saying it is committed to “respectful dialogue” with China’s communist government and to “fostering the mission of the Catholic Church and the good of the Chinese people,” the Vatican announced it has renewed its agreement with China on the appointment of bishops. In the past four years only six bishops have been…
US study of priests reveals array of challenges
by Jonah McKeown A study that claims to be the largest national survey of Catholic priests conducted in more than 50 years has found that despite relatively high levels of personal well-being and fulfilment among priests as a whole, a significant percentage of priests have issues with burnout, distrust in their bishop, and fears of…




Michael Kelly
Mary Kenny
Nuala O’Loan
David Quinn



