Dear Editor, I was getting a little bit concerned about our former president Mary McAleese. It had been several weeks since I had heard her quoted predicting the demise of the Catholic Church. She was clearly keeping her powder dry for a few weeks to maximise publicity for a new book. Her training as a…
We all grow a little more forgetful with the passing of the years, and it is well-established that the ageing brain experiences some cognitive deterioration. But there are ways to mitigate this process, namely: activity, nutrition, and social and intellectual stimulation. And, I regret to say that over the past six months of the Covid…
The View As I write this we are facing into what looks like a fairly bleak autumn and limited Christmas celebrations. Governments are struggling to reconcile the duty to deliver services to save lives and protect health with the needs to protect the economy, for without the healthiest possible economy there will be major problems.…
American liberals are horrified at the thought of a Supreme Court judge imposing their view on the law, writes David Quinn The US Supreme Court is an extremely powerful body. Unlike in Ireland, it is very difficult to pass a constitutional referendum in the United States, and therefore when the Supreme Court passes a judgement,…
If you’ve been to LA, you’re bound to have met them – clean-shaven, young, wearing a neat suit or a business dress – the friendly face of the controversial entity that is the Church of Scientology. The organisation has had a presence in Ireland since 1957, but it’s only recently that they have attempted to…
Netflix has come under criticism, mainly from those on the conservative spectrum, on a number of occasions in recent years for some of the content their platform hosts. However, this all paled into the distance with the release of one of their latest movies, Cuties. Senegalese-French director MaïmounaDoucouré’s debut film, Cuties is described as a…
Letter from Rome Although the drama triggered by the sudden fall from grace of Italian Cardinal Angelo Becciu is far from over, things nonetheless have reached the stage where it’s also possible to stand back and ponder the bigger picture. I say “possible”, not necessarily likely, because frankly the story is just too riveting at…
Vatican cardinal forced to resign insists he will prove the Pope was wrong In an impromptu press conference held the day after his unexpected resignation was announced, Italian Cardinal Angelo Becciu argued that he is innocent of accusations of illegal financial activity and will prove his innocence if given the chance. “In our meeting, the…
We tend to be naïve about evil, at least as to what it looks like in everyday life. Our picture of evil has been falsely shaped by images taken from mythology, religious cults, and from books and movies that portray evil as personified in sinister spiritual forces. Demons haunt houses, appear at séances, are summoned…
The list of priests who have died this year from the beginning of March until the end of August makes for grim reading (see page 19). There has been a dramatic rise in the number of Irish clerics who have died compared to the same period in previous years. Of course, not all of them…
Mary Kenny
Nuala O’Loan
David Quinn
Ruadhán Jones
John L. Allen Jr.
Fr Ronald Rolheiser
Michael Kelly