Courtney McGrailDear Editor, The recently issued Vatican directive “that the ashes of loved ones, after cremation, must be buried, stored or scattered, only, in sacred, consecrated communal places” was a timely and welcome one. It brings to mind a little story related by the late Liam Clancy, youngest of the famous singing Clancy Brothers. While…
Category: Opinion
Why Russia’s religious link with Syria is important
“If America and the West don’t like President Assad – even if he is a bad ruler – it’s still not our business to try to affect ‘regime change’”, writes Mary Kenny
For militant liberals, conscience is a one-way street
Dr Martin Mansergh“It is not always appreciated how much the Churches have restrained violence” writes Martin Mansergh
Earthquake hits Norcia but no mention of its most famous son
David QuinnHow many Irish people today have heard of St Benedict of Nursia (Norcia)? Few enough I would say, and they won’t have been any the wiser if they watched the Six One News on RTÉ television last Sunday evening. The bulletin duly reported the earthquake in the central Italian town of Norcia, and it mentioned…
Veritas: kept afloat by the bishops
Greg DalyThings have improved for Veritas, but it’s still in deep trouble, writes Greg Daly
Crisis? What crisis?
Dear Editor, Your article ‘Catholic Library leadership rejects crisis claims’ (IC 27/10/2016) reports that the new chairperson of the Central Catholic Library insists the library is not in a state of crisis despite almost a third of library’s board having stepped down. It is hard to imagine anyone who read the article with attention sharing…
Arrogance of Zappone is startling
Dear Editor, I would like to thank Mary Kenny for her excellent article of October 20, 2016, ‘Is Katherine Zappone fit for her government job?’ As a grandparent who minds our grandchildren weekly, I so appreciate her sensitivity. The sheer arrogance of Minister Zappone is startling. Her refusal to give young mothers the choice of…
Question the office as much as the minister
Dear Editor, In her opinion piece of October 20, Mary Kenny asks whether Katherine Zappone is fit for the job. While it is legitimate to question her competency for the office, I think in fairness one should question the office itself as fulfilled by her and her predecessors. After all, the education of children is…
Address problem of theological illiteracy
Dear Editor, I attended your splendid Conference on the subject of Faith-based Schools in a pluralist society and was struck by the high calibre of many of the contributions, especially those of Francis Campbell and Baroness Nuala O’Loan. However, I was also impressed by the letter of Julie Connolly (‘A tendency towards pantheism’ IC 20/10/2016)…
Pope’s Nordic noir
Dear Editor, It was interesting to see the Pope in Sweden this week to mark 499 years since an Augustinian monk from a small town in Germany nailed a set of heretical theses to the town bulletin board, in hope of starting a conversation about his new ideas. People with less education and training than…