Dear Editor, Being from the Republic, I read with astonishment that there is a policy in the North, as well as the rest of the UK, that disallows poorer families to receive child benefit for a third or subsequent child. I would certainly not call myself a bleeding-heart socialist but children should never be put…
Dear Editor, I was sad to see the Redemptoristines have still not noticed an increased demand for Eucharistic bread despite churches reopening for public worship in a recent article [IC 10/06/2021]. As they say, demand is still at a “trickle”. Undoubtedly this is because of Government-imposed limits on Mass attendance. The worry I have is…
Dear Editor, Some national politicians have questioned why a Catholic ethos should be present in our schools. Perhaps the reason lies in the fact that the overwhelming majority of children are from a Catholic background and that their parents have a sneaking feeling that the Catholic ethos is the most compassionate, coherent and comprehensive available. These…
Dear Editor, The issue of Irish prisoners not being able to attend Mass, highlighted on your front page [IC 03/06/2021], is most serious. Although some of these people may be behind bars for serious criminal offences, this does not mean that their constitutional rights can so easily and wrongly be taken from them – particularly…
Dear Editor, Over the last few decades, the status of the Catholic Church in Ireland has changed enormously. Catholicism lost its relevancy for many teenagers, young adults, and middle-aged people when they stopped believing or thinking about God and no longer saw the need to attend Church services in a growing materialistic environment. Faith no…
Dear Editor, Fr Gerry Young makes some interesting points in relation to the Government’s plans to allow gender-neutral toilets in all new or refurbished schools [IC 13/05/2021]. Under Norma Foley’s recent leadership, the Department of Education excluded the two largest parent groups from all consultations and there have been at least two significant developments that…
Dear Editor, Recent statements by politicians regarding Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) are very revealing. In effect they are demanding that the Government devise a RSE programme which would be imposed on all schools, irrespective of the school’s values and ethos. I wonder how they would feel if the same logic were applied to politics, i.e.,…
Dear Editor, One wonders what is going to progress the synodal pathway from the hierarchy’s invitation to conversations about holding conversations to Breda O’Brien’s notion of “active connection?” [IC 06/05/2021] Do we have to reinvent wheels in a synodal pathway when strong examples of pockets of Catholic renewal already exist elsewhere in Europe? Can we…
Dear Editor, Michael Kelly’s call for ‘a more robust approach’ to the Government [IC 22/04/2021] regarding the criminalising of Church services is certainly welcome. As all diplomatic approaches have been ignored, I think one solution could be for the bishops to tell their priests to no longer close the church doors while Mass is going on…
Dear Editor, I wish to congratulate you and your team for your excellent and thorough coverage of the appalling restrictions placed on religious worship throughout this pandemic. Despite assurances from the Heath Minister Stephen Donnelly last year that there would be no penal provisions put in place to deter people attending Mass and other religious…