Doctors rally against removal of ‘killing prohibition’ from ethics code

At least 250 doctors have signed a letter addressed to the leadership of the Irish Medical Council stating that they are “gravely concerned” with recent changes to the code of ethics that governs doctors in Ireland. The recently updated 9th edition of the Medical Council’s ‘Guide to Professional Conduct and Ethics for Registered Medical Practitioners’ saw the removal… […]

Annoyed but full of hope: My Catholic wish list for 2024

Elizabeth Scalia You have no idea how many of my columns have begun as a germ of a thought – usually an annoyed question – scribbled on a scrap of paper. This one reflects my late, rather curmudgeonly, “wish list” of what I’d like to see happen within Catholicism in 2024. Indulge me, please. Let… […]

‘Fr Dougal’ documentary on priests disappointingly conventional

RTÉ documentary fails to ask the big questions about the priesthood, writes David Quinn You could tell Ardal O’Hanlon was pulling his punches in his documentary about the huge decline in vocations that was aired by RTÉ on Monday night, but you could also tell he won’t regret it when there are very few clergy… […]

76% of asylum seekers not registering on arrival

Three quarters of asylum seekers arriving in Ireland are not registering at the point of arrival into the country, figures released by the Government show. Of the almost 9,000 migrants seeking international protection who arrived in Ireland in 2023, just 2,056 registered at airports and ports, figures released to Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín revealed. The… […]

Navigating marriage after baby

Expect your marriage to change following the growth of your family, writes Simcha Fisher Ever have one of those days when you lose the hamburger you were defrosting and find it later in the washing machine, full of soap? And you can deal with that, but you cannot deal with being accused of leaving the… […]

Sometimes State ‘care’ can be the most dangerous place for vulnerable children

It’s right to expose historic instances of abuse, but we can’t obsess about it at the expense of vulnerable children in need today writes Michael Kelly   It hasn’t been a great week for Minister Roderick O’Gorman’s Department for Integration. Although, in fairness, one could probably write that any given week over his turbulent tenure… […]

Govt deviating from programme with upcoming referenda says Senator

Independent Senator Ronan Mullen launched a stinging criticism of the Government’s proposals to remove the terms ‘women’ and ‘mother’ from the constitution, suggesting that Government is deviating from its official programme and being guided by specific ideologies instead. “The Government now wants to remove mention of ‘woman’, ‘mother’ and ‘home’ from the Constitution,” he said.… […]

UK Legacy Act will inflict further damage on victims

Many people will have seen the recent TV programme about the Post Office scandal involving the wrongful prosecution of and conviction of sub-postmasters and the wrongful demands by the Post Office for tens of thousands of pounds allegedly missing from post office accounts, all the result of a faulty computer programme, Horizon, and, seemingly, the… […]

Human rights on Taoiseach’s agenda with China

“Human rights concerns” were on the agenda during An Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar’s meeting with Chinese Premier, Li Qiang, this week according to the Department of the Taoiseach. Mr Li, China’s second most powerful man, made a two-day state visit to Ireland this week, during which time he met separately with Mr Varadkar at Farmleigh House… […]

Can ‘love thy enemy’ ever compete with ‘Jihad’?

We are currently within the octave of Prayer for the Unity of Christians, and seldom in recent history has the spirit of Christian unity appeared more needed. Yet as I sat listening to a gentle homily about how Jesus Christ means peace – peace in our hearts, peace with our neighbours, and in the world… […]