Dear Editor, I have noted your piece on the proposal to relocate some holy days to the nearest Sunday, that of All Saints on November 1 and that of the Immaculate Conception on December 8 (IC 16/11/17). I would see that as one more instance of an ongoing cave in or sell out to secularism.…
In all healthy people there’s a natural reticence about revealing too much of themselves and a concomitant need to keep certain things secret. Too often we judge this as an unhealthy shyness or, worse, as hiding something bad. But reticence and secrecy can be as much virtue as fault because, as James Hillman puts it,…
Many people were irritated by Bob Geldof’s decision to return his Freedom of the City of Dublin as a protest against the current regime in Myanmar (still sometimes called Burma) and the treatment of the Rohingya people there. The Lord Mayor of Dublin felt, especially, that it was a graceless move, since this honour is…
Liberal Churches lose both members and integrity, writes David Quinn The Lutheran Church of Sweden is urging its clergy to use gender-neutral language when referring to God and avoid words like ‘Lord’ and ‘he’ and ‘father’. What Martin Luther, after whom the Lutheran Churches are obviously named, would think should be obvious. He would…
We have a duty to stand in solidarity with persecuted believers, writes Dr Michael Kinsella As 2017 comes to a close, we can reflect upon a year in which the Church marked both the 70th anniversary of the founding of Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) by Fr Werenfried van Straaten and the…
It can be quite disheartening to watch the news these days. Our world is full of hatred, bigotry, racism, and over-stimulated greed and ego. The gap between the rich and poor is widening and random, senseless violence is an everyday occurrence. One lives with hope, but without much optimism. Among all of this, perhaps the…
Dear Editor, it was good to see that the former Abbot of Glenstal Abbey Fr Mark Patrick Hederman OSB giving the Association of Catholic Priests (ACP) a bit of a reality check at their recent meeting (IC 16/11/17). I was surprised, however, that the leadership of the ACP appeared to flatly reject Fr Hederman’s criticism…
Editor’s Comment So, Irish parishioners will not have to face the upheaval of yet another new translation of the Mass – at least for now. Reflecting the pragmatism that is the defining characteristic of the modern Irish Church, the cost and huge effort that has gone in to the last revision of the Mass…
Notebook Fr Bernard Healy At the start of November this year, various Facebook friends began posting images and messages stating that with Hallowe’en behind us, now was the time for Christmas songs and decorations. Christmas seems to start earlier each year, but the current fad seems to be for the Christmas Season to encompass…
It is said, amongst teachers, that by teaching, you learn. Similarly, by writing for readers, a journalist learns much from those readers. And over the past week, I received a reader’s letter which gave me much pause for thought. It was from “Anne” in the “West of Ireland”. “I am writing to you re the…
Fr Ronald Rolheiser
Mary Kenny
David Quinn
Michael Kelly