Category: Opinion

Mass is not a performance that requires applause

Dear Editor, Bro. George Whyte’s letter on ‘Disorder and disrespect at services’ (IC 02/06/2016) is no exaggeration and provides a good example of what is happening presently in churches throughout the country. Congregational applause is another irreverent practice that I would like to highlight and which, I feel, is becoming increasingly prevalent particularly at weekend…

The case for remaining disarmed

The Gospels tell us that after King Herod died, an angel appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, telling him: “Get up! Take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those seeking the child’s life are now dead” (Matthew 2: 19-20). The angel, it would seem, spoke prematurely,…

Queen’s surprising ‘ecumenism’

Dear Editor, Mary Kenny describes Queen Elizabeth of Britain as a “surprising ecumenist” who nevertheless adheres to her own Christian faith (IC 16/06/2016). Wasn’t it Queen Elizabeth who signed into law the 1967 Abortion Act, which has resulted – so far – in the deaths of more than eight million of her subjects?  Would that…

Ignore UN abortion ruling

Dear Editor, I’m sure that the vast majority would have the greatest sympathy with any pregnant woman who has received an unsatisfactory diagnosis, and would agree that she should receive all appropriate assistance and support. However if the United Nations Committee had any genuine concern for human rights, it would have recognised that the real cruelty,…

Frustrated with media bias

Dear Editor, Thank you to David Quinn for his comments in the June 9 issue on the problem of bias in the Irish media. It’s so frustrating day after day to have to observe this blatant bias in action in our national papers and on our radio/television. The Irish media behave as though Catholics in this country are not…

More reader-friendly statistics and charts needed

Dear Editor, Compliments on your very informative feature on “Catholicism in England and Wales” (IC 02/06/2016). You won’t mind, I’m sure, if I suggest ways in which an article like this so heavily dependent on statistics could be made more reader-friendly in the future. The verbal and the visual are not brought together in any…

Horrified Catholic schools would allow in Amnesty

Dear Editor, I am absolutely horrified at the headline in The Irish Catholic (09/06/2016) ‘Pressure on Catholic schools to ban Amnesty International’. It beggars belief that Catholic schools would allow Amnesty address their pupils with their promotion of the killing of babies in the womb. It was hardly too much to expect that, when Amnesty…