Courtney McGrailCuban expatriates hoping for a new chapter of freedoms in their country celebrate the death of Fidel Castro in Little Havana, a neighbourhood of Miami, November 26. Castro, who seized power in a 1959 revolution and governed Cuba until 2006, died November 25 at the age of 90. Photo: CNS
Month: December 2016
Fidel Castro, the communist leader who received three Popes
Inés san Martín Fidel Castro, Cuba’s communist leader who died on November 25 at the age of 90, was by far the most dominant figure in Cuba’s one-party state which he ruled with an iron fist for almost five decades before handing over the powers to his brother Raúl in 2008. A hero to the left across the…
Disputed territory
Paul KeenanChristians in post-ISIS Iraq face new challenges, writes Paul Keenan
Pope’s visit is a chance for healing
Dear Editor, The confirmation from the Taoiseach that Pope Francis looks set to visit Ireland in 2018 for the World Meeting of Families is immensely heartening, even if it’s difficult to imagine what Pope Francis thought of his meeting with Mr Kenny. Five years ago the Taoiseach made a brief global name for himself through…
A minister unfit for purpose
Dear Editor, Mary Kenny is to be congratulated on her article when she asks the question: “Is Katherine Zappone fit for her Government job?”, and also to Elizabeth Twomey, in a follow up letter. Minister Zappone was a commissioner with the Irish Human Rights Commission (2002-2012) and has held leadership positions in the NWCI and…
The question of women priests
Dear Editor, Once more, the question of women priests in the Catholic Church has arisen (‘Green Party chief rejects Pope on women priests’ IC 20/11/2016). We still proclaim at Sunday Mass that the Church has four marks: she is one, holy, Catholic and apostolic. Why do we believe this? Because at the Last Supper, Christ…
Bemoaning the US presidential election
Dear Editor, I recently heard Fr Gerry O’Hanlon SJ on radio saying how dismayed he was at the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States. The only alternative was Hillary Clinton. Does Fr Hanlon not know about her involvement in the destruction of Libya or the destruction of unborn life with Planned…
We need to find solutions for our under-pressure priests
Dear Editor, Greg Daly’s article, ‘Priests at risk: problems and practicalities’ (IC 24/22/2016), made for grim reading, as he quoted Fr Brendan Hoban at the Association of Catholic Priests’ annual conference, stating that he had no solution to the “depression and despair of priests”. As a practising Catholic I think we need to find solutions…
Cultivating a sense of alienation
John Reid In a blistering editorial comment this week, the Irish Independent criticised the Catholic Church (which has patronage over about 90% of primary schools in the Republic) for its response to the current Government’s draft programme on education about religious beliefs and ethics, even suggesting that a failure to dilute or scrap the ethos…