News
Old Reflexes
The year 2009 was always going to be a difficult one for the Church in Ireland. A report on abuse suffered by children in Church-run correctional schools is due out later this year. Also expected […]
Articles by Michael Kelly
News
Growing Tensions
On June 4-7 an estimated 342 million Europeans will vote in elections for the European Parliament (EP). With 785 members representing all 27 Member States of the European Union (EU), the EP is the only […]
Special Report
The Wolves Roamed Freely
For almost two decades, the Catholic Church in Ireland has struggled to come to terms with a punishing litany of revelations about sexual misconduct by priests and religious. The crisis continues to envelop Irish Catholicism […]
News
The Slow Climb Back
The specter of child sexual abuse by priests still looms on the ecclesiastical landscape in Ireland. The findings of two government-sponsored judicial inquiries are due to be published later this year. Both reports are expected […]
Special Report
The Culture Wars Come to Ireland
Tensions have emerged in Ireland’s ruling coalition government between the dominant Fianna FÁil party and the smaller Green Party over an unlikely issue: what form promised legislation on domestic partnerships should take. The conflict is […]
News
The Changing Face of Ireland
Recent census data, which indicates that some 10 percent of the inhabitants of the Irish Republic were born overseas, brings the changing face of Irish society into sharp focus. After decades of mass emigration following […]
General
In Ireland, the Vatican Means Business
Anyone who thought the Vatican’s inquiry into the state of the Catholic Church in Ireland was going to be a mere formality got a rude awakening with the announcement May 31 of the high-powered team […]
Analysis
Landmark Pastoral Letter Sparks Mixed Reactions
In a statement, the group—which is currently engaged in a consultation process with the Irish Bishops’ Conference—said the pastoral letter represented a long-overdue apology from the Pope and the Vatican. “Victims desperately need closure for […]
General
Landmark Pastoral Letter Sparks Mixed Reactions
The response to Pope Benedict XVI’s pastoral letter to Ireland’s Catholics on the subject of child abuse has been somewhat predictable. The Catholic hierarchy, as represented by Cardinal SeÁn Brady and Dublin’s Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, […]