Slavery remains one of the great stains on human history and the role of Christians is chequered, writes David Quinn In America there is an attempt to have 1776, the year Independence was declared, supplanted in the national memory by a new date – 1619. That is the year the first group of 20 slaves…
Letter from America In failing to challenge Donald Trump on his moral inconsistencies, Catholics have also failed their Church One of my all-time favourite television shows is The West Wing, the seven-season epoch chronicling life inside the White House’s executive office. At the helm of the nation is President Jed Bartlett, a Catholic Democrat who…
It is normal to feel restless as a child, lonely as a teenager, and frustrated by lack of intimacy as an adult; after all we live with insatiable desires of every kind, none of which will ever find full fulfillment this side of eternity. Where do these desires come from? Why are they so insatiable?…
Notebook I think I must be the luckiest priest in Ireland. Luck is the key word there, because through no fault or effort of my own, I was eight years in this parish before Covid-19 struck. This was a powerful help just now. It means I know the place and its people very well (and…
Dear Editor, Every Thursday morning without fail your fine newspaper arrives through my letterbox. You and your staff and team of writers deserve huge credit for keeping the paper going with such exceptional quality during what most be one of the most challenging period that any of us will ever experience. The Irish Catholic is…
Robert Runcie, who died in 2000, was a well-liked Archbishop of Canterbury who had warm ecumenical links with the Archbishop of Westminster Cardinal Basil Hume. He participated in a joint service at Canterbury – on the spot where St Thomas More was murdered – with Pope John Paul II in 1982. Dr Runcie’s wife, Rosalind,…
Going against the grain has earned Poland an international media rebuke, writes Jason Osborne Poland has opted for the road less travelled by with its re-election of incumbent Andrzej Duda for a second term as president following a tight race against Warsaw mayor, Rafał Trzaskowski. Mr Duda’s victory was sealed with the reigning president securing…
We rightly mourn the deaths of over 1,700 people from Covid-19 but the loss of more than 7,000 little ones from abortion passes almost without comment As a Church, it’s the very least we can do in response to the deafening silence from the media and the majority of politicians who have largely ignored the…
What liberals really lament is that they didn’t have everything their own way in the past, writes David Quinn Jack Charlton was one of the most loved figures Ireland has seen in decades. It is a rare person who becomes a national hero to the extent that he did. He gave us the same sense…
Letter from Rome As museums and historical sites in Italy slowly begin opening their doors after several months of lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, technology may prove to be the ‘Renaissance’ the country’s tourism industry desperately needs. Recently, countries within the European Union have opened their borders following months of lockdowns and restrictions. However,…
David Quinn
Fr Ronald Rolheiser
Mary Kenny