Kathleen Dowling Singh, RIP No community should botch its deaths. That’s a wise statement from Mircea Eliade and apropos in the face of the death two weeks ago of Kathleen Dowling Singh. Kathleen was a hospice worker, a psychotherapist, and a very deep and influential spiritual writer. She is known and deeply respected among…
Prayers are becoming words without meaning Dear Editor, It is always sad, and even a bit disturbing when, as a couple stand before the altar, there is no obvious passion in that moment when the vows of marriage are pronounced. In a similar way, I am constantly disappointed at the way the Our Father is…
Fr Conor McDonough ‘Post tenebras lux’ (‘Light after the darkness’), the motto of Calvin’s Geneva, is proposed by some as a summary of the Reformation. After the darkness of the Middle Ages, the previously hidden light of the Word of God is unleashed by Luther and his followers who come armed with vernacular Bibles,…
Pope Francis has convened a special synod meeting of bishops for 2019 that will address issues facing the Church in what’s known as the Pan-Amazon region of South America. The meeting will look at Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guyana, Guyana, Peru, Venezuela and Surinam. Francis announced the move at the weekend and said the…
Participating in a feminist conversation in Northern Ireland last weekend (held at the stunning Mount Stewart stately home in Newtownards), I listened to a distinguished Oxford historian express her hopes that the coming Irish referendum on the Eighth Amendment “would give feminism a unified focus”. I very much hope that the abortion referendum will not…
Martin Mansergh Few statues are not offensive to somebody. Fellow adviser, writer Anthony Cronin, once suggested that the statue of Fr Mathew should be removed from O’Connell Street, as it was offensive to drinkers. Fr Mathew warned the Irish poor against consumption of strong spirits, or they might soon find themselves before the bar of…
Various experts have been appearing before the Oireachtas Committee that is considering what wording to put before the Irish people in next year’s abortion referendum. Much of the focus on the hearings to date has been on their alleged bias. More on this anon, what is far more important is what was said last week…
Loss of reverence part of Church decline Dear Editor, I note in Fr Joe McDonald’s interview (IC 05/10/2017) that he doesn’t hazard a guess as to why he thinks time is running out on the Church in Ireland. There is, however, one interesting passage in the article with which I agree wholeheartedly: “Instead of asking…
Spirituality Nobel-prizing winning author, Toni Morrison, assessing the times, asks this question: “Why should we want to know a stranger when it is easier to estrange another? Why should we want to close the distance when we can close the gate?” Except this isn’t a question, it’s a judgment. It’s a negative judgment on…
I once carried out a survey of priests in a deanery conference regarding weddings and funerals. People generally would see a wedding as a happy occasion, something to enjoy, while funerals might be seen as events to be avoided. The priests in my circle were asked which they preferred to be involved in leading –…
Fr Ronald Rolheiser
Michael Kelly
Mary Kenny
David Quinn