Research reveals Pontiff a regular feature of Oireachtas debates EXCLUSIVE Pope Francis has proved a big hit with Irish politicians as excitement mounts ahead of his scheduled visit here next year, according to new statistics compiled by The Irish Catholic. An extensive trawl of the official report of the Oireachtas – which records the…
Although Pope Francis’ visit next year is likely to cost about €20m, events for children and the Mass in the Phoenix Park will be free in order to reduce financial stress on families, the Archbishop of Dublin has assured. Archbishop Diarmuid Martin said that he wants the events at next August’s World Meeting of Families…
JANUARY The new year began with the Dáil preparing to debate a full motion condemning the persecution of Christians in the Middle East. This was sparked by the failure of politicians to include Christians in a motion attacking the treatment of Iraq’s Yazidi minority by the so-called Islamic State (ISIS) – an omission described as “outrageous” by Bishop John McAreavey. Mark Zuckerberg, founder…
Bishop George Bell was a notable Church of England bishop who might well have become Archbishop of Canterbury, but Winston Churchill disliked Bishop’s Bell’s opposition to aerial area bombing during World War II and probably blocked his candidature. Dr Bell described the bombing of unarmed women and children as “barbaric” in 1941. He was a…
Jesus said that when we welcome the stranger we also welcome him, said the Bishop of Elphin in his Christmas message, and that this sends a message of “solidarity with refugees”. The tradition of lighting a candle in the window on Christmas Eve is a way of saying that if the Holy Family were looking…
Only half the recommendations from State’s working group on asylum seekers have been implemented or initiated, according to the Irish Immigrant Support Centre. An audit by Nasc of the Government’s progress in implementing the recommendations in the July 2015 report compiled by the Working Group on the Protection Process and Direct Provision, chaired by retired…
An influential publication within the country’s largest Protestant denomination has insisted that any debate on abortion in the Republic must keep the right to life of the unborn to the forefront. An editorial in the Christmas edition of the Church of Ireland Gazette also says that “it would be a mistake to think that the…
The View T.S. Eliot is one of my favourite poets, and I particularly love parts of the ‘Four Quartets’, although I don’t pretend to understand fully his work. ‘Burnt Norton’, the first of the ‘Four Quartets’, contains references to summer and autumn, but for some reason, I often think of parts of it as…
Charities have said that the 39% increase in postal rates on a card or letter posted within Ireland is having an effect on the sale of Christmas cards which generate revenue. Earlier this year, An Post increased the cost of a posting a letter within Ireland from 72c to €1. “Orders from fundraising groups are…
Legally speaking marriage is now only a friendship pact, writes David Quinn Two male friends are to marry shortly so one can avoid paying inheritance tax when the other dies. Neither of the two men is gay and the marriage will be totally legitimate in the eyes of the law. Revenue has confirmed to…
Chai Brady
Mary Kenny
Greg Daly
Breda O'Brien
Susan Gately
David Quinn