The View In the aftermath of last May’s referendum, there has been a dearth of pro-life commentators on radio and TV broadcasts to discuss the implementation of the new abortion laws. But ignoring those who represent a third of the voting public is not enough for those in journalistic circles who influence what we…
Accord’s marriage preparation figures may be dropping, but this disguises an increase in its importance, writes Greg Daly 2018 saw a continuing year-on-year drop in numbers of people attending sacramental preparation courses offered by Accord, the Catholic marriage care service, but as usual it’s worth getting behind the headline figures. On the face of things,…
Letter from Rome All eyes and ears will be on the Vatican during an unprecedented gathering February 21-24 to discuss the protection of minors in the Catholic Church. When Pope Francis announced the international meeting in September, it sparked an optimistic note that the global problem of abuse finally would be tackled with a…
US bishops have welcomed the Pope’s decision on the disgraced former cardinal as a sign of real reform writes Christopher White Pope Francis’ historic decision to defrock Cardinal Theodore McCarrick at the weekend (technically, to dismiss him from the clerical state) prompted an immediate wave of responses from US prelates, who lauded the decision…
In 1970, the famed British writer Iris Murdoch wrote a novel entitled A Fairly Honorable Defeat. The story had numerous characters, both good and bad, but ultimately took its title from the travails of one character, Tallis Browne, who represents all that is decent, altruistic and moral among the various characters. Despite being betrayed by…
Dear Editor, Prof. Stephen Bullivant suggests the Irish bishops follow their English and Welsh counterparts and reintroduce Friday abstinence (IC 7/2/2019). Until 1966, healthy adult Catholics had to abstain from flesh meat on Friday. In 1966, St Paul VI allowed for substitution of abstinence with certain good works. St John Paul II confirmed this in…
I’m in Rome this week attending the unprecedented meeting on the protection of minors within the Church. Primate of All-Ireland Archbishop Eamon – as president of the Irish bishops’ conference – is here sharing the experiences of the Church in Ireland with his brother bishops. Even before the summit got underway this morning (Thursday) people…
The Notebook Go into your local supermarket and check out the food section. You’ll be amazed at the selection available for coeliacs. Business people know the statistics: more that one in every 200 Irish people is coeliac and needs a gluten-free diet. This fact poses a challenge for churches: one in 200 people makes…
St Patrick’s Day, as we all know, has in recent years become an occasion for “marketing” Ireland in various corners of the globe. The shiny new liberal Ireland is merchandised in such a way that it will attract many more investors, customers and traders. I’m all for investment, trade and opportunities for jobs – who…
The View The Pope’s recent visit to the United Arab Emirates highlighted the issue of relations with Islam. It has been a recurring theme of this pontificate. It was also a major concern of Pope Benedict, although he was unfairly caricatured as anti-Islamic after his much mis-quoted Regensberg Address in 2006. Far from attacking…
Maria Steen
Greg Daly
Fr Ronald Rolheiser
Michael Kelly
Mary Kenny
Breda O'Brien