I had no idea that St Thérèse of Lisieux had such a massive band of devotees until the visit of her relics in 2001. A headline in this newspaper at the end of the tour’s first week reported that 100,000 people had turned out in the South East. I was travelling a lot that summer…
Category: Opinion
Travelling with St Paul
Courtney McGrailCelebrating Week of Prayer for Christian Unity
Pope’s freewheeling style causes a stir for media
Michael Kelly‘The Pope’s ability to present the Church’s teaching in a way that is accessible is very impressive’, writes Michael Kelly
The Church needs a balance of the sexes
Mary KennyThe structure of the Church mirrors the world
Media rediscovers that Pope Francis is Catholic
Breda O'BrienIs it only a matter of time before the media honeymoon which Pope Francis has enjoyed is over? Certainly, some of the media coverage of his recent trip to the Philippines might suggest that yes, the media has rediscovered that the Pope is a Catholic. Pope Francis has an informal style of speaking that makes…
Pope Francis holds ‘key’ to Church renewal in Ireland – papal nuncio
Papal nuncio to Ireland, Archbishop Charles Brown, delivered the 2015 Terrence R. Keeley Vatican Lecture at the University of Notre Dame in the US recently. These are some abridged highlights of his speech.
The Jews of Europe are being attacked once again
David QuinnIt is abhorrent that we have contrived to make parts of Europe unsafe for Jews once again, writes David Quinn
Life support case was not about abortion
Dear Editor, The recent case of a pregnant woman on life support had nothing to do with abortion. Ordinary lay people could see that. The evidence in court was so unanimously against the baby’s chances of survival there could only be one end to this tragedy. Michael McDowell, ex-Attorney General and Tánaiste, was right when…
Je ne suis pas Charlie
Dear Editor, I have only recently become familiar with Charlie Hebdo’s work, thanks to the inexcusable act of violence in Paris. I am a fan of satire, but Hebdo seems to focus its energies exclusively on provoking the Islamic community in the most vile way possible. Its writers worked hard to provoke a reaction, and…
Sneering attack on Belvedere students
Dear Editor, Cathal Barry rightly condemns Irish Times journalist Rosita Boland’s sneering attack on the generous Belvedere College students Christmas sleep-out for the homeless (IC 08/01/2015). Ms Boland, apparently, from her lofty perch in the Irish Times, found the Belvedere lads’ efforts to help the homeless “inappropriate”, “distasteful” and “uncomfortable”. The Belvedere lads’ fee-paying status…