When it was reported in a London newspaper that Catholic priests can feel hurt and dismayed when the Faithful compare and judge their sermons – via internet live-stream Masses – the BBC commentator Nick Robinson remarked smartly: “Join the club!” Those guys and gals in the media are used to both brickbats and bouquets for…
The View What is religion for? We know that NPHET, or at least, Dr Ronan Glynn, then the acting Chief Medical Officer, did not think religion sufficiently important as a source of social contact to allow people to continue with public worship. In response to a question by David Quinn, he said that the aim…
Church leaders should be realistic without constantly going for a downbeat assessment of the future of Faith, writes David Quinn In his latest thoughts on the future of the Catholic Church in Ireland, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin notes that ‘no religion’ is the second most ticked box in the religion section of the national census. This,…
Letter from Rome As both the United States and Europe face resurgences of the coronavirus pandemic and are moving towards new lockdowns in many places, it’s a good time to look back at the experience of the first wave in the spring and take stock of lessons learned. In Catholic terms, the issues back then…
Does the Earth feel pain? Can it groan and cry out to God? Can the earth curse us for our crimes? It would seem so, and not just because ecologists, moralists, and Pope Francis are saying so. Scripture itself seems to say so. There are some very revealing lines in the exchange between Cain and…
Dear Editor, I was astounded to read in The Irish Catholic about a priest in Cork who was allegedly threatened by gardaí with punitive action for celebrating public Mass [IC 12/11/2020]. The Department of Health and the Minister of Justice have both said that if a priest celebrated public Mass they were not making a…
Many people were relieved to hear Taoiseach Micheál Martin indicate on RTÉ Radio that public Masses will likely begin again in the Republic by early December when level five restrictions are set to be eased. Under the original framework, public worship is currently also banned under level three (the restrictions we are expected to move…
Notebook Her first anniversary took place a few weeks ago. I spoke with her husband around the days – a phone call to a man who likes to talk – maybe needs to talk. I remember the call when his wife died and my visit to his little cottage where they lived, shared life and…
The Covid-19 lockdown has brought about many changes in our lives – we have long lamented the closure of churches for Mass – and even if a vaccine becomes available, it will probably be some time before these changes are reversed. One shift I welcome is the trend towards smaller weddings. Hotels and wedding planners…
The View In his 1973 essay ‘The Faith: The Nation, Prime Principles of Survival’, Frank Duff – the founder of the Legion of Mary, whose anniversary was on Saturday – observed that the faith of the nation was in a crisis. He likened the Ireland of the 1950s to pre-revolutionary France. Both appeared on the…
Mary Kenny
Breda O'Brien
David Quinn
John L. Allen Jr.
Fr Ronald Rolheiser
Michael Kelly
Maria Steen