When I meet Catholics at events around the country, one thing which always comes up is disappointment and frustration that the Church is frequently misrepresented in the mainstream media. Time and again, people complain to me about the distortion that they see in newspapers and on television and radio about what the Church teaches. They’re…
Dear Editor, I was surprised to read in your paper how the censured Fr Tony Flannery has criticised Archbishop Diarmuid Martin for doing “little or nothing” to bring about change in the Church (IC 15/3/2018). Granted, there aren’t many who would describe the Archdiocese of Dublin as an especially dynamic place, but even allowing for…
The Notebook Fr Silvester O’Flynn Blessed Paul VI called Padre Pio a living crucifix in the 20th-Century. Perhaps God saw that something more vivid than a crucifix of wood, stone or metal was needed to engage the people of our time. And so, a young Capuchin priest in Italy was chosen by God…
Letter from Rome One of Catholicism’s most beguiling features is its endless capacity for complexity, and that certainly extends to its understanding of suffering. On the one hand, few institutions on earth invest more in the effort to alleviate suffering. Yet Christianity also was born in a monumental act of suffering, meaning Christ on…
It seems to me regrettable that the general discussions around the points that Mary McAleese makes in her critique of the Catholic church often seem so insular. Seldom are there any references to other faith traditions – on the question of ordaining women – be it Judaism and Islam, Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Anglicanism and…
A Catholic with a properly formed conscience cannot vote for abortion, writes David Quinn Can a Catholic in good conscience vote in favour of abortion? This was the question put to the new Bishop of Raphoe, Alan McGuckian, on Morning Ireland last week. Bishop McGuckian was speaking about the bishops’ latest statement on the…
Martin Mansergh The View Following the recent acute and unseasonal cold spell, a photograph appeared on the front of the Tipperary Star showing a winter scene of the centre of Thurles, taken from the bridge over the River Suir, with the caption (anonymous): “A snowflake is one of God’s most fragile creations, but look…
Last week the Sunday Times reported that the Government may change the wording of the proposed abortion legislation. The Citizens’ Assembly and the Oireachtas Committee recommended that abortion be allowed where there is a “risk” to the life or health of the mother – including mental health. Now, there are rumours that the Government may…
The poet, Rumi, suggests that we live with a deep secret that sometimes we know, then not, and then know again. That’s a good description of faith. Faith isn’t something you nail down and possess once and for all. It goes this way: sometimes you walk on water and sometimes you sink like a stone.…
Dear Editor, I am commenting on the recent resignation of Bishop McAreavey because of his having been criticised for offering the funeral Mass for a priest who, according to the secular media, was “a known paedophile”. Paedophilia is an abomination before God. The trauma caused to victims – physical, psychological, spiritual and social – is incalculable, often resulting…
Michael Kelly
John L. Allen Jr.
Mary Kenny
David Quinn
Maria Steen
Fr Ronald Rolheiser