Dear Editor, With reference to your front page article about exorcists in Ireland (IC 18/01/18) I have to confess to considerable shock that a spokesperson from the Catholic Communications Office at Maynooth would state that “…this office has not been made aware of any recent cases of exorcism in Ireland in recent years”. That is…
The Notebook Martin Delaney Down syndrome My face may be different But my feelings the same I laugh and I cry And I take pride in my gains I was sent here among you To teach you to love As God in heavens Looks down from above To him I’m no different His love knows…
Though its critics may never acknowledge it (or even believe it), the Catholic Church is the world’s leading advocate for the marginalised and the vulnerable – an enemy of unjust discrimination, and a pioneer in healthcare and education. Whether it is standing up for the poor and homeless or the unborn and those nearing the…
There’s an old saying that “the pen is mightier than the sword”, and it is as strikingly true today as it ever has been – if “pen” embraces the use of words in general. People are often judged more by what they say than by what they do. Or even by what other people say…
The View Martin Mansergh January may be the beginning of a new year. Mostly, it feels like a return to base camp, with life stripped back to its essentials and nature relatively bare. It is a month to be endured. Warmth is comfort; coldness and damp is living in misery. January also tends to…
There are signs that the reality of what repeal would mean in practice is starting to sink in with some politicians, writes Cora Sherlock The Dáil this week completed its preliminary debate on the report of the Joint Committee on the Eighth Amendment. It’s clear at this stage that a majority of TDs will…
While we can’t build walls between people, unrestricted immigration is not an answer either, writes David Quinn Globalisation refers to the free movement of both people and goods across borders. Some people are for both types of freedom while others are for either the free movement of goods or the free movement of peoples.…
Recently I received a letter from a man who shared that he was still deeply haunted by a story he’d heard in grade-school many years before. One of his religion teachers had read them a story about a priest who went to visit a childhood friend. While staying with his friend, the priest noticed that,…
Dear Editor, Like many people, I am heartbroken by the news that the wonderful Dolores O’Riordan has died. She was a wonderful artist, but above all a daughter, a mother and a sister. She loved Limerick, and Limerick loved her. We live in a culture where strength is prized above all else. A world dominated…
As I predicted in this newspaper some time ago, Fine Gael is increasingly trying to frame the debate around legalising abortion in all circumstances up to 12-weeks as a moderate position. The reality, of course, is that there is nothing moderate about the state-sanctioned killing of children – whatever the Taoiseach’s spin doctors try to…
Michael Kelly
Mary Kenny
David Quinn
Fr Ronald Rolheiser