The trend towards removing every last trace of religion from the public square continues apace across the Western world. In a blog for the Telegraph website, Brendan O’Neill (pictured) says that the hallmark of this trend is secular liberal intolerance. O’Neill, himself an atheist, writes: “If you want to see what intolerance means, look no...
This week the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s ageless ‘I have a dream’ speech took place. Much of the commentary has ignored the fact that Dr King was a Baptist pastor that his vision, and his vision of justice specifically, had a deeply religious underpinning. As David Quinn argues in his column in The...
It’s interesting to read about the policy of the early Soviet state towards the family and to compare it with policies gaining increasing influence in the West today including in Ireland. They are rather too similar for comfort. Essentially, both sets of policies have the effect of making the State far more powerful and the...
Recent coverage of the crisis unfolding in Egypt has finally focused attention on the plight of Coptic Christians in that country. But, as this article by David Quinn argues, we in the West ought to be far more aware of the fate of persecuted Christians across the globe. You can read the article in full...
In an effort to be more ‘inclusive’ the Girl Guides in Britain have dropped references to ‘God’ and ‘country’ from their pledge. Guides now pledge instead to “be true to myself” and to “develop my beliefs”. This is almost beyond parody. Essentially, instead of the pledge being focussed on something external, it is now focussed...
Are dads (and men) redundant? The increasing trend towards single motherhood (single fathers head only a tiny fraction of families) and best-selling books like Hanna Rosin’s The End of Men would have you believe so. Common sense says different of course. For a start, it should be obvious that when it comes to something as...
One day a major case concerning religious freedom is going to appear before the Supreme Court. That will be a fateful day because on that day, the Court will either interpret religious freedom in a very constricted way, or in a much more (genuinely) liberal way. The implications of either decision will be immense. If...
Last week David Quinn appeared on The Right Hook on Newstalk to discuss the ethos of the Mater hospital with George Hook, and the looming clash between it and the new abortion law. To listen, click here. It begins at 25 minutes in.
The Mater hospital is being pressured by the new abortion law into abandoning its pro-life ethos. In his column in last Friday’s Irish Independent, David Quinn argues that this isn’t only a battle about abortion, it’s also a battle about the autonomy of civil society. A constitutional case could be on the cards.
The Mater hospital is required by the newly passed Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act to perform abortions under certain circumstances. This includes the suicide ground. Fr Kevin Doran, a member of the board of the Mater, said the law clashed with the ethos of the hospital. The Iona Institute released a statement today defending...
