So, last week it was the second anniversary of the referendum to repeal the Eight Amendment, but I didn’t notice much about it in the media. Maybe we’re ashamed of what we did and want to pretend it didn’t happen? Anyway, some were in triumphalist mode. On the Pat Kenny Show (Newstalk FM) last Thursday,…
Dear Editor, It was wonderful to read your front page [IC 28/05/2020] which describes how the bishops have produced an 88-point draft plan to bring the sacramental life of the Church back to the faithful. There have been so many people being negative, letting fear and blind obedience cloud their judgement rather than being productive.…
In this series, some literary collaborators will be giving suggestions for lockdown reading, books of all kinds to amuse and raise our spirits. This week: Ian d’Alton writes about The Swiss Family Robinson (1812) and Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There (1871) For adults, children’s books often open a window onto a…
Free coding workshop for schoolchildren A three-day free coding workshop, facilitated by the Academy of Code and delivered online through Zoom will take place next week, with tickets available from Friday. It is organised by ‘Work Matters at the Library’ and is part of the South Dublin Creative Campus Programme. The event is for secondary…
It’s 16 years since the then Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly painted the image of ‘tiptoeing’ back to the Church. “It would be good if we recognised the new religions of sex and drink and shopping for what they are and tiptoed back to the Churches,” she told the Céifin conference in 2004. New research carried out…
Indian Catholics reject politician’s ‘baseless’ conversion claim Church leaders and activists have rejected a claim by a member of parliament from India’s Andhra Pradesh alleging that Christian missionaries use money for religious conversion. Raghu Ramkrishna Raju claimed in a television debate last week that Christian missionaries are pumping large sums of money to carry out…
I grew up believing Jean Harlow died of renal failure in 1937 because her Christian Science mother wouldn’t allow her have a blood transfusion. That story was subsequently debunked. A few years ago, I reviewed the Emma Thompson film The Children Act on these pages. It dealt with a boy who refuses to have a…
Brendan O’Regan
Michael Kelly
Aubrey Malone