Dear Editor, Regarding the expected visit of Pope Francis next year, Finola Kenny in your issue of May 18 makes a very valid point. She recalls the deep disappointment felt by the locals of the parish of Our Lady of Lourdes, Sean McDermott Street, where the papal motorcade passed by without the expected stop. No…
John of the Cross teaches that within spirituality and morality there are no exempt areas. Simply put, you cannot be a saint or a highly moral person if you allow yourself a moral exemption or two. Thus, I may not allow myself to split off one moral flaw or sinful habit and see it as…
Fr Vincent Sherlock “It clears your mind and eases stress”, she told me. She wasn’t alone! Nearly every child in the class had some variant of the stress reliever and mind-clearer in hand as well. They were in a variety of colours and one even glowed in the dark. Thankfully I was in touch enough to…
“Catholics need to become better at standing up for themselves”, writes Michael Kelly There has been much to criticise in the Catholic Church recently. And Catholics have not been shy about naming the serious wrongs that have been done in the name of the Church or by people within the Church. The Church has also…
“Tolerance and esteem for other cultures should be automatically part of a decent education”, writes Mary Kenny According to Dr Victoria Showunmi at Maynooth University, the teaching of history and other subjects in Ireland should be adjusted to reflect the cultures and experiences of new immigrants. Schools and colleges should offer a curriculum that doesn’t…
Fr Kevin O’Reilly OP When people object to Catholic influence in healthcare, effectively what they mean is they want the freedom to take human life, writes Fr Kevin O’Reilly OP There have been few people willing and able to speak up in defence of the Religious Sisters of Charity. The sisters have had to endure…
In the wake of the London attacks by radical Islamists, Theresa May has said, “enough is enough”. But how does one counter a movement so loosely organised that it scarcely even deserves the term? Or an ideology which relies on lone agents or small numbers of attackers and on the use of vehicles and knives as…
“It is vital that the past is excavated and that past abuses are exposed and those who were abused listened to”, writes Michael Kelly This week saw yet another damning report on the failure to protect vulnerable Irish children. Amongst the findings was the fact that children were left in foster homes despite credible evidence…
“if an older person feels that their sons and daughters haven’t been particularly caring, I think they should be entitled to distribute their worldly goods as they see fit”, writes Mary Kenny I don’t imagine that most of us older people will be rushing off to our solicitors to alter our wills in the wake…
Plans to give away the St Vincent’s Healthcare Group may need Vatican approval, writes Greg Daly According to the Religious Sisters of Charity, their planned cessation of involvement in the St Vincent’s Healthcare Group has been in the works for two years. For all that their plan has been widely praised as a noble, elegant…
Fr Ronald Rolheiser
Michael Kelly
Mary Kenny
Breda O'Brien
Greg Daly