Dear Editor, It is my opinion that a baby in the womb should be fully protected by legal safeguards provided by our Constitution. I cannot reconcile myself with the pro-choice lobby that abortion can be seen as a sensitive intervention in cases of fatal foetal abnormality. When these situations arise perinatal hospice care is the…
“The heritage of ancient Holy Ireland has been woefully underdeveloped in recent years – almost ignored”, writes Mary Kenny One of the leading items on my ‘bucket list’ (things to do before you die) would be to walk the Camino of St James in Spain – or at least to walk some of it. It…
Dear Editor, I notice that, while The Irish Catholic is now featuring a great number of advertisements, the Letters Page is more frequently missing. Do you plan to restore the Letters Page? I can assure you that it is very popular – and much missed by your readers. Yours faithfully, Isabella Corr, Greyabbey, Co. Down
“Most Palestinians live peacefully, as best they can in what is left to them of their homeland, but it gets harder and harder to make a living”, writes Nuala O’Loan As I write this I am sitting close to the shore of the Sea of Galilee, having spent several wonderful, challenging days in the Holy…
Dear Editor, Great prominence and praise is rightly given by the media to Pope Francis’ visit and care to refugees in Lesbos. Our Irish bishops could be more supportive of the leadership of the Holy Father in this vast humanitarian crisis. I wrote to the hierarchy some weeks ago suggesting that vacant religious convents and centres could…
We have a responsibility to ease the burden on countries that are immediate neighbours to war-torn regions, writes David Quinn Europe is currently embroiled in the greatest refugee crisis since the Second World War. It has been precipitated by the collapse of authority in Libya, and in large parts of Iraq and, of course, by…
Calling women as deacons is at least worth talking about Phyllis Zagano The early Church had a problem. As it grew, the apostles could not attend to all its ministries. As Pope Francis said, when speaking to assembled bishops in Philadelphia, last September, the apostles essentially ‘invented’ the diaconate. The beginnings of the diaconate related…
The Church teaches that ecclesiastical ministry is exercised in different degrees, writes Cathal Barry The ministerial priesthood has the task not only of representing Christ before the assembly of the faithful, but also of acting in the name of the whole Church when presenting to God the prayer of the Church, and above all when…
Bishops must answer Pope’s challenge on sex education, writes David Quinn Amoris Laetitia is a long and complex document with many parts dealing with diverse topics, but all relating in the end to the family, the Church’s concept of the family and how people can be led, sometimes bit by bit, to see the wisdom…
There were four speakers at the presentation of the Pope’s post-synodal Apostolic Exhortation in Rome last Friday, but all eyes and ears were on Cardinal Christoph Schönborn. Before turning to his prepared text he announced: “This text is beautiful, really beautiful in my opinion.” He went on to praise the accessibility and immediacy of the…
Mary Kenny
Nuala O’Loan
David Quinn
Cathal Barry