The View Sometimes in politics, it is not the things you expect that cause a reaction. When the last Government proposed restrictions on the use of the medical card it was probably inevitable that it would cause a major backlash. When a hospital ward is closed a backlash will be absolutely inevitable. But…
Attacks on the Catholic Church have gone too far and people are starting to notice, writes David Quinn It is now 20 years since the Bishop Eamon Casey/Annie Murphy scandal first came to light, and 18 years since the Albert Reynolds/Dick Spring government fell, ostensibly as a result of the Fr Brendan Smyth…
Irish law must change to criminalise those who purchase sex, writes Sr Stan Kennedy RTÉ’s Prime Time programme ‘Profiting from Prostitution’, broadcast last week, exposed the shocking and tragic reality of abuse and enslavement endured by many women throughout this country. The broadcast exposed the ugly reality of the Irish sex trade: shedding…
An American community of men living according to the monastic Rule of Saint Benedict is moving to Ireland this month to ‘return the love’ given by the Irish priests and religious who served the Church in the United States. The Monastery of Our Lady of the Cenacle was established by Dom Mark Daniel Kirby…
Can markets ever be ‘moral’ and can they act ‘morally’? The banking and debt crises which are reaching into every corner of Europe are prompting this question with ever more urgency. Recently, the British Prime Minister, David Cameron called for a ‘moralised’ form of capitalism, and the Catholic Bishops of England and Wales have long…
A Catholic layman from Co. Kildare has taken it upon himself to create a Catholic drive towards inviting Pope Benedict to visit Ireland in time for the International Eucharistic Congress. Liam Prendergast has written to every parish in Ireland requesting that parish priests and other volunteers gather signatures of Catholics over the age of 16…
A Donegal priest is standing in solidarity with his Church of Ireland counterpart to protest against budget cuts which could adversely affect not only the local parish school but 27 out of 31 Protestant schools in Co. Donegal. ‘Budget 2012 will inflict serious damage and reek havoc particularly on small schools throughout Ireland. This…
John Waters By any normal intuitive or rational criteria, I think you would have to observe that the prospect of a papal visit to coincide with the International Eucharistic Congress in June is, at this stage, unlikely. The question is: should we be thinking about such a matter on the basis of normal intuitive…
The community of Blanchardstown parish came together in large numbers last Wednesday to celebrate a combination of the feast day of St Brigid, parish patron, the journey to the Eucharistic Congress (IEC) and the beginning of a year of celebration for the 175th anniversary of St Brigid’s church. ”It is a group of celebration…
Bishop Michael Smith of Meath concelebrated a Mass of Thanksgiving to mark the completion of the bell tower and spire of the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Kingscourt, Co. Cavan, last Sunday, with a number of former parish priests, natives, friends and neighbours of the parish. Fr Padraig MacMahon, administrator of Mullingar Cathedral,…
David Quinn
Mags Gargan
Mary Kenny