“Why did you not go in to join the celebrations?” It is a fair question! There was jealousy at work. Yes, he had gone away and left us all in the lurch. Yes, he had eaten into my father’s property but there was more to it than that. I resented him, not just because he had…
As usual, people are being given the wrong impression by our media about the implications of the overturning by the US Supreme Court of Roe v Wade, the 1973 ruling that effectively made abortion legal up to birth in all 50 states of America. To judge by some of what you have heard or read,…
The overturn of Roe vs Wade is a great victory for the pro-life movement but it is also the start of a bigger battle. The considerable resources of the pro-choice movement, celebrities and influencers will all be marshalled. The singer Lizzo has pledged half a million to Planned Parenthood already and performers at Glastonbury have…
John Lavenburg In response to the Supreme Court overturning Roe vs Wade, Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore stated his appreciation but kept an eye towards the future and the need to redouble Church efforts supporting women and couples who face unexpected pregnancies, as well as opening the hearts and minds of those with a different perspective. “My…
Last Friday, June 24, we celebrated the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The spirituality of the Sacred Heart is an invitation to be intimate with God. The theme of intimacy is central in the Bible. The symbol of the heart is considered to be the seat of emotions and human affectivity. It can rejoice…
Dear Editor, Below is an extensive quote from an article in The Irish Catholic, June 16, 2022 [‘Clear call’ for married priests from Irish synod participants]: “The value that underlines the desire is a ‘belief that a married clergy dealing daily with family issues, would be in a better position to understand and deal with…
If I don’t appear at my local church over a couple of Sundays, other parishioners are kind enough to notice my absence: people very sweetly ask me afterwards if I’ve been away – usually the reason – and if I had a pleasant trip. One of the social advantages of being part of a parish…
On the eve of the World Meeting of Families and with a view toward the beatification September 4 of Pope John Paul I, attention turned to his initial openness to softening Catholic teaching on contraception and his later support for the teaching of St Paul VI. The editorial director of Vatican News, Andrea Tornielli, and the…
The synod process currently underway in Ireland is being replicated all across the Catholic world. To be sure, it is being met with varying degrees of enthusiasm – but it is a testament to the unity of Catholicism that the Pope is able to announce such an ambitious programme of consultation and within months parishes…
There’s a tension among Christians today between those who would extend God’s mercy everywhere, seemingly without any conditions, and those who are more reticent and discriminating in dispensing it. The tension comes out most clearly in our debates concerning who may receive the sacraments: Who should be allowed to receive the Eucharist? Who should be…
David Quinn
Breda O'Brien
Mary Kenny
Michael Kelly
Fr Ronald Rolheiser