Conservative Catholic communities offer tight-knit Catholic networks, writes Ruadhán Jones Raymond Friel, an English Catholic academic, caused a bit of a stir on Twitter recently when he questioned why young priests are drawn to what looks like a Church imagined from the 1950s “soutanes in the high street, etc.” It’s an interesting question, one which…
Surrogacy and gender reassignment surgery are the scandals of modern Ireland, writes David Quinn Different times produce different sorts of scandals, and they are often the product of the particular set of values a given society has at a given moment. As we are now well aware, in the past babies were frequently taken away…
The Pope’s call for young people to reduce meat intake comes at a time when Ireland is pushing for a more sustainable agriculture sector, writes Chai Brady The Government’s agreed set ceilings for greenhouse gas emissions for each sector have been dubbed a “positive step” by climate scientists, renewing hopes Ireland will reach its commitment…
A temptation to believe that we presume too much on God’s mercy dogs the spiritual progress of many Christians, writes Thomas Flowers SJ St Peter Faber (1506-1546) came to see his battle with scruples as an occasion for the mercy of God. As a young man, guilt overwhelmed him. He worried not only over every…
If you were listening closely this week, your ears may have picked up a subterranean rumbling out of Rome. It was the sound of the tectonic plates of history shifting, as, perhaps for the first time ever, the Vatican actually more or less came clean about its finances. In the old days, it used to…
Ukraine’s ambassador to the Holy See has hinted that a possible papal trip to his country could happen before the Pope’s visit to Kazakhstan in mid-September, when he is expected to meet with Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill. Pope Francis met with the Ukrainian Ambassador to the Holy See, Andrii Yurash, on Saturday for a private…
In a particularly poignant passage in her poem, The Leaf and the Cloud, Mary Oliver pictures herself standing at the gravesite of her mother and father, reflecting on their lives. They were far from perfect and she doesn’t sugarcoat their faults. She openly names her mother’s heaviness of soul and her father’s immature faith. She…
You might very well think it is an obvious thing for a priest to say but recently, I have been thinking a lot about Faith. A few weeks ago, the Harvard business school professor, Arthur C. Brooks, shocked RTÉ radio presenter, Brendan O‘Connor by suggesting that the two most important things that guarantee a happy…
Dear Editor, Yet another attack on Christianity in Ireland has thankfully been quashed due to the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland’s correct decision not to accept a complaint about RTÉ’s broadcasting of popular Christmas carol O Holy Night [The Irish Catholic – July 28, 2022]. In their decision they say: “The broadcaster notes that it is…
Anyone with a sense of compassion can feel sympathy for a person with gender dysmorphia – someone who strongly believes that they were ‘born into the wrong body’, and feels driven to change their gender. There are numerous cases in Ireland, north and south, of transgender people who have undergone such a transition. Agree Not…
Ruadhán Jones
David Quinn
Chai Brady
John L. Allen Jr.
Fr Ronald Rolheiser
Mary Kenny