Dear Editor, How horrifying it was to read in The Irish Catholic (13/11/2014) Archbishop Neary’s contention that the Catholic Church has lost the battle with secularism and that Ireland is witnessing the death rattle of Christendom. What has happened to “…this is my rock and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it”? So…

Dear Editor, One would have to concur with Archbishop Neary that the Church has lost the battle with secularism (IC 13/11/2014). However, one would have to ask is it or was it the mission of the Church to do battle with secularism? I would suggest that the Church’s mission is to spread the Gospel and…

Dear Editor, How uplifting to read Philip Johnson’s story of his diagnosis of terminal brain cancer and his hope of ordination to the priesthood (IC 13/11/2014).  What a comparison with that of 29-year-old Brittany Maynard who ended her life because of a similar diagnosis. All life is fragile and worth living but, unfortunately, not always…

Dear Editor, The story on Archbishop Michael Neary in The Irish Catholic of November 13 makes for grim reading: “Church has ‘lost the battle’ with secularism”. Sadly, one would have to agree with his assessment. It’s such a pity that our Church leaders did not take heed of our Blessed Mother’s request to have the rosary…

Dear Editor, The death has occurred of Venerable Archdeacon Michael O’Brien, known to a generation of Cork GAA supporters as ‘the Canon’. The people of Cork are saying goodbye to a priest who has served us well; walked with us in our joys, our sorrows and in our everyday lives. He baptised us, prayed with…

  Dear Editor, It’s no surprise that Archbishop Victor Manuel Fernández described the Extraordinary Synod of Bishops in glowing terms (‘Rome Synod addresses complexity of the family’ IC 06/11/2014), since he was part of the secretariat responsible for the running of the synod and one of the authors of the final report. Judging by the…

Dear Editor, I was heartened by your recent edition in which Mary Kenny gave a headline to the natural law (‘Natural law exists for a good reason’ IC 30/10/2014). The natural law is an old concept. It extends back to the philosophy of St Thomas and Aristotle. When I studied philosophy of the natural law,…

Dear Editor, Politicians often speak from both corners of their mouths. Church figures who adopt this practice are confusing their role with that of a politician. Though not conducive to a quiet life, their duty is to promote Church teaching, in and out of season, not to conceal it. To adopt the practice of politicians…

Dear Editor, The suspension by the Samaritans of their Samaritans Twitter App on the grounds of invasion of peoples’ privacy, is to be welcomed. The introduction of this app is very disconcerting as the core value of Samaritans is advertised as caller confidentiality. The Samaritans remain a very important and necessary service in Irish society. As…