The View A man I have known for many years died last week in our parish. He was a genuinely good man – husband and father of four children, very talented, a former vice-principal at our local grammar school, but what marked Declan Martin out was his consistent service to and care of others, and his…

With restrictions ongoing, many parishes are in deep financial trouble, writes Chai Brady While the tired old canard of priests always talking about the need to raise parish funds persists, many clerics are in fact reluctant ever to raise conversations about money. The fact remains, however, that parishes cannot run on goodwill alone and the…

Many people who don’t believe in God do believe that human behaviour is simply the result of social conditioning, writes David Quinn Atheists often enjoy making sport of religion. They mock us for believing in the ‘great sky-fairy’ (meaning God), or the virgin birth, or that a man can walk on the water, or rise…

Letter from Rome Robert Merton, a famous American sociologist, was, by all accounts, a smart guy. Among other things, he popularised the expression “law of unintended consequences” to refer to situations when a person does something for one reason, but he or she finds that it produces all sorts of other unexpected results. Right now,…

Marking an historical first in Pope Francis’ home country, the Diocese of San Luis in northern Argentina invited a transgender woman to read one of the prayer intentions at a public Mass celebrated by the local bishop. The invitation was issued to Francia López by civil officials to recognize the work she does among the…

Notebook One of the great surprises of the lockdown, for me at least, was just how many in Ireland are keen gardeners. People simply couldn’t wait for gardening centres to re-open, and when they did, on May 18, there were enormous queues of people desperate to buy seeds, pots and compost. My own lockdown gardening…

A Co. Kildare doctor, Adrian McGoldrick, who is recovering from the coronavirus, has warned others that an attack of Covid-19 can leave them with heart conditions and other health issues. “Don’t think that you can get the virus and that you will not suffer,” he has said. “Treat this virus with respect…this is going to be…

The View Between this week and next, schools across the country are due to reopen. Parents will be sending their children back to a school building for the first time since March, but this September many will be wearing a new uniform: a face mask. Children will be told to keep their distance from their…