Josepha Madigan’s decision to run a Eucharistic service in a priest’s absence invites serious questions, writes Greg Daly The decision by Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Josepha Madigan to conduct an impromptu Eucharistic service with two other readers on a Saturday evening when the priest scheduled to say Mass failed to turn…
Unless we remember how painfully the promises of economic growth were shown to be hollow we may have much more misery in store, writes Kevin Hargaden If we take a moment to recall what it is to remember, we quickly realise that memory is one of the great gifts of life. Consider the stories…
The Mary of Scripture and the Mary of Devotions There’s an axiom that says: Roman Catholics tend to adore Mary while Protestants and Evangelicals tend to ignore Mary. Neither is ideal. Mary, the Mother of Jesus, has, in effect, two histories within Christian tradition. We have the Mary of Scripture and we have the Mary…
Dear Editor, Oh! To be a minority! This seems to be the cry of many Catholics since the referendum in relation to the Church pulling back from education. They could then prioritise Faith formation in the remaining schools the respondents opined. This echoes what Archbishop Diarmuid Martin has been saying for some time. It highlights…
A friend and colleague suggested to me a short time ago that I should consider writing a book about nuns – since the majority of nuns are now ageing, and in the fullness of time will depart this world. Had I but world enough and time, I would indeed embark on this endeavour. But because of…
The View No longer can Ireland be called a Catholic country. It may sound strange, but that comes as a relief to me. For years, those of us who are Catholic have been struggling against a notion that we are somehow part of a Catholic ‘establishment’, exercising great power and sway over the general…
Catholic hospitals must stand their ground on abortion, writes David Quinn In the Dáil last week, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar confirmed that Catholic hospitals will have to perform abortions under the terms of the upcoming abortion law. Let that sink in for a moment. Very few countries require such a thing because they know abortion…
Ed Condon The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops met last week in Florida for its annual spring session at which the bishops had serious discussion about a number of issues, among them immigration. On Wednesday, their discussion took an unexpected turn. Speaking on the topic of the Trump administration’s immigration and asylum policies and…
Our culture doesn’t give us easy permission to mourn. Its underlying ethos is that we move on quickly from loss and hurt, keep our griefs quiet, remain strong always and get on with life. But mourning is something that’s vital to our health, something we owe to ourselves. Without mourning our only choice is to…
Dear Editor, Martin O’Brien’s investigation into the Pope’s decision not to visit Northern Ireland this year (‘No Pope here?’ IC 14/6/2018) invites serious questions about links between our local Church and the Vatican. The Pope’s decision not to visit the North has, understandably, caused dismay and continues to cause confusion across both Northern communities, and…
Greg Daly
Fr Ronald Rolheiser
Mary Kenny
Maria Steen
David Quinn