Courtney McGrailDear Editor, Interesting that Mary Kenny (IC 21/04/2016) empathised with that Kentish priest’s ‘lesbian’ dilemma. I think it shouldn’t have embarrassed him to have to say, “The Lesbians…” However, lesbians (small ‘l’) are not confined to Lesbos (now Lesvos), as we all know. Lesvos, apart from being the birthplace of the poet Sappho in the…
Category: Opinion
An opportunity for mercy
Dear Editor, In this Jubilee Year of Mercy, is it time for the Irish Church to revise its treatment of Bishop Eamon Casey? Yours etc., Pat Conneely, Dublin 11.
The celebration of Holy Orders
Cathal BarryThe Church teaches that Christ himself chose the apostles and gave them a share in his mission and authority, writes Cathal Barry
On the side of God, peace and the poor
Fr Ronald RolheiserBefore you get serious about Jesus, first consider how good you’re going to look on wood! Daniel Berrigan wrote those words and they express a lot about who he was and what he believed in. He died at the weekend aged 94. No short tribute can do justice to Dan Berrigan. He defies quick definition…
The nuns who mapped the stars
“Up until recently, the women were no more than nameless nuns whose image has long been preserved in a black and white photograph… now their identities have been pulled out of obscurity”, writes Carol Glatz
Ireland should stand up for persecuted Christians
Michael Kelly“Ireland has traditionally had an enviable reputation for raising human rights concerns at home and abroad”, writes Editor Michael Kelly
Danger of Church colluding in false abuse impression
“I sometimes also wonder about the centrality and prominence that safeguarding has taken in the life of the Church”, writes Editor, Michael Kelly The watchdog set up to monitor the Church’s adherence to stringent child protection rules has published a new set of ‘standards’. Amongst other things, the document aims to redress a perception that…
First the rhythm method, now the algorithm method
Mary Kenny
“It’s wonderful the way that technology can come to the rescue of good ideas and update the way we look at things,” writes Mary Kenny Natural Family Planning (NFP) was encouraged by the Catholic Church after the publication of Humanae Vitae in 1968, and many couples who felt they needed to limit their families tried…
No hint of sectarianism in Rising leaders’ independence struggle
Dr Martin Mansergh
“It would be easy, but wrong, always to assume that all that matters is the faith that people die in,” writes Martin Mansergh The commemoration of the 1916 Easter Rising has been uplifting, and has attracted wide public interest, support and enthusiasm. Fortuitously, its timing has filled a gap in public life created by the…
Good versus evil battles based on religious roots
David Quinn
Game of Thrones’ nihilism does not work because we need stories to have a just ending or moral purpose, writes David Quinn President Barack Obama is a fan. He got to watch the first episode of the new season ahead of almost anyone else. That, I suppose, is one of the perks of being the…