Catholic Church

Studies: Changing Catholic culture

September 27, 2022

The autumn Studies reflects on the seismic shift in Irish Catholicism over recent decades, in the light of Derek Scally’s The Best Catholics in the World.

Read more
Hope for the future requires remembrance of the past

September 20, 2022

DERMOT ROANTREE :: Christian hope requires remembrance of the past – of the suffering of Christ, and so that of all victims.

Read more
The Taliban within

September 28, 2021

GERRY O'HANLON SJ :: It seems as if the Church, while seeing that something is amiss with respect to the status of women, lacks urgency in addressing it

Read more
Resolving the Humanae Vitae crisis

April 13, 2021

Michael McGuckian SJ's new book proposes a resolution to what he says is a crisis in the Catholic Church relating to its doctrine on contraception

Read more
What happened in Chile?

January 24, 2018

Michael O'Sullivan SJ lived in Chile in the 1980s, when the Church was seen to be on the side of the people. Much has changed, as Pope Francis's visit has...

Read more
Where to for the Irish Church?

March 22, 2017

The lead articles of the Spring 2017 issue of Studies all concur in the judgement that a phase – at least a phase – of Irish Catholicism has ended

Read more
How much freedom of speech?

June 22, 2016

The Summer 2016 issue of Studies confronts the hard questions about the rights and limits to freedom of speech raised by the 'Charlie Hebdo' attack on 7 January 2015.

Read more
The Pope is not infallible

February 16, 2016

DERMOT ROANTREE :: The Church does not, strictly speaking, teach that the Pope is infallible. George Wilson, an American Jesuit, explains the issue in a recent Commonweal article

Read more
The Irish Referendum – discerning the spirits

May 28, 2015

GERRY O'HANLON SJ :: The 'yes' side in the recent marriage referendum won a decisive victory. The Church, as Archbishop Martin has acknowledged, needs a reality check. But what shape...

Read more
Insight into inspirations of Pope Francis

March 11, 2015

Austen Ivereigh, British religious journalist and writer, spoke on 2 March in Gardiner Street Church on 'Pope Francis: Behind the mission'. He examined the development of thought of Jorge Bergoglio,...

Read more