Here’s a papal pop quiz: When’s the last time you can remember a Pope openly demanding that all the priests of a specific diocese, whether they currently live there or not, write him a personal letter within 30 days pledging their loyalty, and threatening them with suspension if they don’t comply? If your answer is…
Ever since the election results were confirmed, we Brits have been speaking a lot of ancient Greek. For a start, there’s the hubris of the prime minister, Theresa May, in calling an election to secure a strong, stable government to better negotiate with Brussels, only to find herself weak and wobbly in a hung parliament,…
“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…
World Meeting of Families must proclaim the truth with charity and clarity, writes David Quinn Every moral act has two main components, the objective and the subjective. Here’s an example. If someone steals, what they have done is wrong. The act of stealing is wrong in itself, objectively wrong. But the person might be starving.…
Right now, it doesn’t seem much like hyperbole to say the political relationship between the United States and Europe appears to be on the brink of unravelling. At the very least, ties across the Atlantic are facing serious new strains. Last week, US President Donald Trump announced a pull-out from the Paris climate change agreement,…
Addressing one of his favourite topics, Pope Francis spoke energetically over Pentecost weekend to huge crowds at the Circus Maximus and at St Peter’s Square of the creative power of the Holy Spirit to unify through diversity, while bringing peace, joy and courage. Following three hours of high-octane praise and testimonies in many languages under…
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 L. Allen Jr.
Austen Ivereigh
Michael Kelly
Mary Kenny
Breda O'Brien
David Quinn