The Iona Blog

Stories that ought to shock liberals, but don’t

By David Quinn

The stories we find most shocking are the ones that offend our deepest values. However, because it is liberals who dominate the public space, it is the stories which shock them, that get the most attention. Other, equally shocking stories get almost no attention, like this story about the company that has turned embryos into a form of...

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Fintan O’Toole mocks ethos, but he has one too

By Dr Angelo Bottone

Fintan O’Toole in his Irish Times column this week ridiculed the very idea of having an ethos and mocked Catholics for having one, but can anyone really live without an ethos? O’Toole thinks that ‘ethos’ is a Latin word. He has either never read or has forgotten about Aristotle’s Ethics, one the foundational texts of...

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TDs urge Government to recognise ISIS actions against religious minorities as ‘genocide’

We are pleased to be able to announce that 22 TDs and Senators have signed a letter addressed to Foreign Affairs Minister, Charlie Flanagan, urging the Government to recognise ISIS attacks on Christians, Yazidis and other religious minorities in Iraq and Syria as a form of genocide. The letter was drafted and circulated by The...

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Maria Steen discusses the Citizens’ Assembly on RTE’s Drivetime

Maria Steen of The Iona Institute was on RTE’s Drivetime on Monday evening to discuss the recommendations by the Citizens’ Assembly in favour of a very wide-ranging liberalisation of our abortion laws to bring them more in line with Britain’s. Her contribution can be heard here.

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Ireland’s abortion rate is very low by European standards

By Dr Angelo Bottone

Colm O’Gorman spoke at the last meeting of the Citizens’ Assembly and made some remarkable comments about abortion rates and Ireland. Will they stand a close scrutiny? The short answer is, no. He said: “Countries with more liberal abortion laws generally have a lower rate of abortions. If you look at the European standards, one...

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Like the Church, the United Nations is beset by scandals and cover-ups

By Dr Angelo Bottone

The Catholic Church is rightly excoriated for its past failure to properly protect children from sexual abuse by clergy. Its moral authority has been severely damaged by these scandals. The United Nations is another organisation that is often placed on a pedestal. When a UN committee accuses Ireland of a human rights violation, we take...

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The place of religion in Irish society

Iona Institute Director, David Quinn, appeared on RTE’s Prime Time last week to debate Census figures showing a decline in the number of Irish people who consider themselves to be Catholic. He debated what this means with Una Mullally of The Irish Times. In particular they discussed whether faith schools should continue to received public...

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The rise of the ‘nones’ and what it means

Census 2016 data, released last week, shows that the number of people in Ireland who say they don’t belong to any given religion has risen to just under 10pc of the population (the so-called ‘nones’), while the number saying they are Catholics has dropped back to 78pc. David Quinn of The Iona Institute, and Michael...

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Even Christians are apathetic about the murder of Christians overseas

By David Quinn

The shocking murder of several dozen Coptic Christians in Egypt as they worshipped in their churches on Palm Sunday ought to shake other Christians to the core and draw far more attention to the violent persecution of Christians in many parts of the world – chiefly in the Muslim world – but it won’t. Why...

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More evidence of the immense importance of marriage and biological parents

By David Quinn

Evidence keeps accumulating about the importance of marriage, and the importance of being raised by your biological parents. This should matter to us if we want to live in a society that is truly pro-child and is not in reality organised around the wishes of adults first and foremost. Three articles have just been published...

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