Notebook Getting vaccinated is “an act of love,” Pope Francis said in his latest urgent appeal, after more than a year of insisting Covid-19 vaccines be equitably available worldwide for everyone to get inoculated. Nonetheless, some Catholics have been wondering if they should seek a religious exemption from an immunisation requirement with vaccines tested or…
Dear Editor, – I cannot be alone in finding the shadow boxing between Church and State over the issue of First Holy Communion and Confirmation amusing. The bishops are acting responsibly within their competence and are also acting with due regard for the common good. It is unprecedented for a democratic government to try to…
For centuries, numberless men and women have lived lives of involuntary celibacy: they have never found a partner with whom to settle down. The Irish were, traditionally, cautious about marriage – often because so many farms were small and inheritance was uncertain – so they lost their opportunity to find a spouse. There were many…
The View So first, the good news: the bill seeking to legalise assisted suicide in Ireland has been comprehensively rejected by the Oireachtas Justice Committee. This is a significant victory for the protection of vulnerable, sick and elderly people – who are among those endangered when it becomes culturally and medically acceptable to assist a…
Catholics need a constant reminder that the grace of God is greater than our sin, writes David Quinn Sometimes we need to remind ourselves why we are Catholics. We are Catholics because we believe Catholicism is true. We are not Catholics because all Catholics behave well, or because the Church is or is not in…
Letter from Rome It was quite fitting for a Catholic actor and a Christian director of a new streaming series on the life of Jesus to meet Pope Francis on the feast of St Clare of Assisi, patron saint of televisions and screens. Jonathan Roumie, who portrays Jesus, and Dallas Jenkins, the series’ director, creator…
The Faithful still long to practice their faith free from harassment, writes Elise Ann Allen For Iraqis, the first week of August 2014 will forever be etched into their memory as the start of one of the worst episodes of religious and ethnic persecution the country has ever seen when the so-called Islamic State overtook…
What is the Eucharist? What is supposed to happen when we gather to celebrate the ritual that Jesus gave us at the Last Supper and asked us to perpetuate until his return? Is this meant to be a family meal or a re-enactment of Jesus’ sacrificial death? Is it meant to look like the old…
Dear Editor,I have read with much interest the article regarding bishops giving the green light for celebration of the sacraments of First Holy Communion and Confirmation [IC 05/08/2021]. This is a praiseworthy and needed concern on the part of the seven bishops. I congratulate them and thank them for their courageous leadership at this difficult…
Notebook I had a bout of cellulitis this summer, a sore dose. I don’t know where it came from, though my doctor speculated that an insect bite under the skin on my foot probably caused the infection. I have often had cellulitis in the past, so I know the solution: rest with feet elevated, and…
Mary Kenny
David Quinn
Fr Ronald Rolheiser