Liberals celebrated Byrne because he challenged the supremacy of the Catholic Church: but bishops’ misjudgements played into his hands, writes Mary Kenny Everyone agrees that Gay Byrne was a broadcasting genius. He could draw any story out of anyone: knew instinctively how to handle it either sensitively, robustly or jokingly: and always had complete…
Gay Byrne was a wise, witty and mischievous broadcaster whom people trusted enough to welcome him into their homes, writes Roger Childs As I write, a pall of genuine sadness hangs over RTÉ’s Montrose campus, following the news of Gay Byrne’s death. Twenty years after his supposed retirement, there are still so many people here…
For good or bad, what celebrities say and do matters, writes David Quinn It’s entirely possible you’re never heard of him, or are only vaguely aware of him but rest assured that Kanye West is a massive star. He is an American rapper, singer and song-writer. This year alone, he is on target to make…
For hundreds of years, the Shrine of the Holy House of Loreto has been among the most popular destinations for Marian devotees in Italy. With a jubilee just weeks away, and a new status on the Church’s liturgical calendar, the shrine’s importance seems destined to continue to grow. According to Diletta D’Agostini, a journalist who…
We tend to nurse a certain naiveté about what faith means in the face of death. The common notion among us as Christians is that if someone has a genuine faith she should be able to face death without fear or doubt. The implication then of course is that having fear and doubt when one…
Dear Editor, I note that Mary Kenny (17/10/19) states that, as she mentioned previously, she believes the Vatican should revisit Humanae Vitae as “we know so much more about fertility control now than in 1968”. May I revisit this issue too and point out that previous to its publication and afterwards the Vatican had encouraged and promoted…
Notebook Fr Bernard Healy The approach of November in Rome is usually marked by additional bus services to the city’s cemeteries. Although religious practice rates in Rome are probably no more encouraging than in Ireland, the custom of the cemetery visit during November is still strong. The community of the Pontifical Irish College prays for…
Many tributes have been paid to the late Gay Byrne who died this week. He dominated much public debate in the second half of the last century and was a towering figure in broadcast journalism. In some ways, his television and radio programmes were a mirror being held up to an Ireland where many people…
The View In 1782, towards the end of the American war of independence, one of the most respected of the founding fathers, Benjamin Franklin, scientist and diplomat, who negotiated both war and peace, expressed the opinion, “there has never been or ever will be any such thing as a good war or a bad peace”.…
Decades old tensions within the Church are showing themselves in a new and ugly fashion, writes Fr Bill Dailey CSC In the seminary, I had a moral theology professor who took a liberal, revisionist approach to Church teaching. They had a course packed with standard issue critiques of teachings I agreed with, and to my…
Mary Kenny
David Quinn
Fr Ronald Rolheiser
Michael Kelly