Fr Ronald RolheiserThere is no such thing as pure objectivity, a view that is free of all bias. Yet that’s the claim often made by non-religious, secular thinkers in debates about values and public policy. They argue that their views, unlike those who admit that their views are grounded in religious principles, are objective and free from…
Category: Opinion
Are bishops blind to intimidation in Catholic schools?
Courtney McGrailDear Editor, Your October 22 front page headline ‘Some Catholic teachers feel “intimidated” in faith schools’, makes for very sad reading. Prompted by this and your August article on the quality of religious education (RE) in secondary schools, I have reflected upon my experience as principal of two English secondary schools. English bishops organise regular…
A married couple’s message for today
All married couples will struggle, but a strong faith can be empowering, writes Andrew O’Connell
Restrictions on hospital visits an example of aggressive secularism
Dear Editor, Your recent article about “red tape gone mad” preventing priests from visiting their parishioners in hospitals throughout the country, seems like a further inroad from aggressive secularism (IC 08/10/2015). Hospital mission statements, framed and prominently displayed in out patient’s waiting areas, make much of patients’ rights to courtesy and proper respect from hospital…
The Church needs to separate decision-making from ordination
Nuala O’LoanDespite Pope Francis’ appreciation of “the feminine genius”, women still have not been granted “a proper place in decision-making in the Church”, writes Nuala O’Loan
Free choice of individual separates them from sacramental life
Dear Editor, Austen Ivereigh writing about the current Synod on the Family (IC 08/10/2015), quite rightly states that the backdrop to the synod is “the massive collapse across the western world of support for the Christian understanding of marriage in culture and now law – as Ireland, and most of our families have witnessed at…
Reconciliation is the sacrament of ‘new life’
While we may not be able to change the past, we can learn from our mistakes, writes Dominic O’Reilly
Lack of compassion in comments on same-sex couples
Dear Editor, The year 2015, with the referendum for same-sex marriage, for good or bad, has marked a key turning point in the history of Ireland. As a Christian, I confess that on a number of occasions over the course of the referendum, and since, I have been both deeply shocked and saddened by some…
Displacing ego and narcissism
The Buddhists have a little axiom that explains more about ourselves than we would like. They say that you can understand most of what’s wrong in the world and inside yourself by looking at a group-photo. Invariably you will look first at how you turned out before looking at whether or not this is a…
Synod must define what being Catholic means
Dear Editor, The dispute within Britain’s Labour Party over its ability to win the next (2020) general election is similar to the issues facing our bishops at the synod in Rome. In Britain, the argument seems to be that Labour must do whatever it has to do in order to become electable, a position rejected…