President Higgins’ view of post-independence Ireland is a caricature, writes David Quinn How should we remember 1916? What does justice to all the different strands of the Easter Rising? President Michael D. Higgins has spoken of the need for “ethical remembering”, by which he means a form of remembering that takes account of all the…
The synod journey has been unfamiliar territory and there has been a sense of adventure, writes Bishop Brendan Leahy Since we began our synod process, as far back as December 2014, I’ve often been asked – why did I call a synod? The most immediate reason was that when I became Bishop of Limerick, I…
The freedom that the 1916 rebels fought for is not being extended to asylum seekers, writes Eugene Quinn The centenary celebrations of 1916 have prompted a reflection on where Ireland is one hundred years on, challenging us to reimagine what it means to be Irish and what we value as a society. April 10 marks…
How successful the dream of the Rising has been realised can only be measured in terms of what kind of society we have now, writes Archbishop Diarmuid Martin Earlier this year RTÉ transmitted a television series about 1916 called Rebellion. It was a fictional re-enactment of the dramatic events of Easter Week 1916. It included…
We need to think about and pray for our brothers and sisters suffering and dying for what we take so casually for granted, writes Fr Martin Delaney Recently I returned to my alma mater, the Irish College in Rome. Some years ago the college chapel was extensively renovated by the Slovenian Jesuit artist, Mark Rupnik.…
In the movie based upon Jane Austen’s classic novel Sense and Sensibility, there’s a very poignant scene where one of her young heroines, suffering from acute pneumonia, is lying in bed hovering between life and death. A young man, very much in love with her, is pacing back and forth, highly agitated, frustrated by his…
The Church teaches that Christ is made visible through the ordained ministry, writes Cathal Barry The redemptive sacrifice of Christ is unique, according to the Church, is accomplished once for all; yet it is made present in the Eucharistic sacrifice of the Church. “The same is true of the one priesthood of Christ,” the Catechism…
Dear Editor, Why do so few people attend Mass these days? Many no longer practice their Catholicism for a variety of reasons. Most do not understand what the Mass is about. The readings are disconnected from what goes before and after each reading from the Old Testament. They are often read as though the reader…
Dear Editor, I was very heartened to read in Shaykh Umar Al-Qadri’s article in last week’s paper (IC 31/03/2016) that the Irish Muslim Peace & Integration Council had held a ‘Not in our name’ protest in Dublin and has launched guidelines on preventing radicalism. In the same issue David Quinn wrote that it was not…
Dear Editor, What an Easter weekend! With historic, cultural and religious ceremonies highlighting our national values. The planning, organisation and execution of the very many ceremonies and parades was such that the total effect was greater than the sum of its parts. This included the amazing transformation overnight of O’Connell Street in Dublin. While we…
David Quinn
Courtney McGrail
Fr Ronald Rolheiser
Cathal Barry