Courtney McGrailDear Editor, Sabina Higgins is not a private citizen, she is the wife of the President of Ireland and therefore everything she does and says must be viewed as a reflection on the office of the president. To express an opinion which falls on either side of an issue that will most likely be the…
Category: Opinion
The Sacrament of Matrimony
The Church teaches that man and woman were created for one another, writes Cathal Barry
Clarity on Church policy for coeliacs
Dear Editor, I write as we mark Coeliac Awareness Week. Five years on from diagnosis, I could recount several episodes where I have returned from Mass exasperated and wondering how more complicated sharing in Holy Communion can get. Many queries and letters later, I am perplexed as to why there cannot be agreement and clarity…
Swedish law on prostitution informed by radical feminism
Dear Editor, In her article on Amnesty International’s stance on prostitution (IC 05/05/2016) Breda O’Brien mentions the Swedish prostitution law of 1999 which has been copied in certain other jurisdictions including our own. The key features of the Swedish law are, first, that it criminalises the purchase of sex but, second, it effectively liberalises its sale…
Governance of new hospital
Dear Editor, I may be wrong on this but my recollection is that two years or so ago, the Theological Institute of the Jesuits in Milltown, Dublin was transferred to Trinity College. Inevitably, the college authorities required that the governance of the new faculty should rest in the hands of the college. That seems fair…
Who receives Holy Orders?
Cathal BarryThe Church teaches that, by ordination, one is enabled to act as a representative of Christ, writes Cathal Barry
The Ten Commandments of Mercy
Fr Ronald RolheiserAmong the Ten Commandments, one begins with the word “remember”: “Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day”. It reminds us to recall something we already know. There are commandments of mercy written into our very DNA. We already know them, but we need to remember them more explicitly. What are they? The Ten Commandments of Mercy…
Keeping the promise of the Last Supper
“The big challenge for the faith community is to welcome these young children who seek to be full members of the Church”, writes Fr Martin Delaney
Northern Catholics want an alternative to Sinn Féin, but it isn’t the SDLP
Michael Kelly“There is simply nowhere for Catholics who are serious about the defence of marriage and the right to life of the vulnerable to go”, writes Editor Michael Kelly
First Communion is a vital building block in evangelisation
Mary Kenny“if families want to make a big fuss about First Holy Communion – including a certain amount of bling and other manifestations of carnival culture – let them”, writes Mary Kenny