There has always been an innate and healthy tension between theology and catechesis, between what’s happening in theology departments in universities and the church pew. Theologians and bishops are often not each other’s favourite people. And that’s understandable. Why? Theology and catechesis have different purposes, even as both are valid and both are needed. Catechesis,…
Category: Opinion
Attack on Pope Francis was disappointing
Dear Editor, I was shocked and disappointed on reading Dr John Murray’s letter (IC 3/10/13); shocked at the denigratory tone he adopted towards Pope Francis, and disappointed that a person in his position in the Mater Dei Institute of Education is forming opinions of Pope Francis through such a narrow lens of “his now-famous” interview,…
Fr Flannery is not a victim
Dear Editor, I am writing to respond to the letter from Jarlath Vaughan (‘It is wrong to silence Fr Flannery’ IC 10/10/13). Firstly, I’ll say that I have followed the story of Fr Flannery quite closely since it began to unfold. At this stage, talk of Fr Flannery as a victim of the “evil Vatican”…
Misleading on mental health
Dear Editor, Mary Kenny’s article entitled ‘What liberal’s don’t report about mental health’ (IC 7/10/13) is not only inaccurate but unacceptably stigmatising and serves only to propagate the myths and mistruths that link violence to people with experience of mental health problems. It is hugely concerning how Mary Kenny bases her entire piece around two…
Mary Kenny and The Quiet Man
Dear Editor, I usually enjoy reading Mary Kenny’s weekly column. I was, however, disappointed to read her criticism of the classic film The Quiet Man (IC 10/10/13). She sounded a particularly discordant and sour note. It is a little late in the day for her to reveal that the ‘archaic’ story was not politically correct…
Columban and Ireland’s Christian legacy
Dear Editor, Fr Sean McDonagh celebrated St Columban in your issue of October 10, and rightly so. This was the time when the Irish were the saviours of Europe, because of the great work our missionaries did in Scotland, and in western Europe as a whole. It was not just that they brought the Faith…
Giving Communion to remarried Catholics
If the current Church ban is lifted, it must be true to the teaching of Jesus, writes David Quinn
A frightening picture of failure
Pro-life advocates are vindicated in the ‘Savita report’, writes Breda O’Brien
What liberal’s don’t report about mental health
We have just seen a campaign for Mental Health Week, which will surely be a help and a support to anyone experiencing the affliction of depression, or of conditions like bi-polar disorder. These illnesses can be treated, and there should be no cause for shame or stigma. But sometimes such campaigns fail to distinguish between…
TDs, Communion and the Church
Does the Derek Keating case raise questions about faith formation?