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- Written by Maureen Molloy
- Category: Weekly Column
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- Written by Edward Cardinal Egan
- Category: Weekly Column
The picture on this page is an untouched photograph of a being that has been within its mother for 20 weeks. Please do me the favor of looking at it carefully.
Have you any doubt that it is a human being?
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- Written by Edoardo Albert
- Category: Weekly Column
Dear Joe,
You asked about Richard Dawkins’ book, The God Delusion. Well, I haven’t had a chance to read it all yet, but it so happened that The Times printed a long extract from the book which I did read and have been thinking about. Since Dr Dawkins has also been on the TV a lot, I’ve now got a better idea of the points he is trying to make.
I’ll go through the extract that I read in a moment, but first a general point that’s struck me: if Christianity should be what Dr Dawkins believes it to be, then I would agree with his condemnation of it. (Of course, Dr Dawkins doesn’t hold with any form of religion, but most of his examples seem to be drawn from Christianity and that seems to be the religion that most draws his animus.)
However, it seems to me that Dr Dawkins’ idea of Christianity is one of his own invention, or rather the amalgam of various strands of ideas that don’t actually bear that much relation to the real thing. And, following on from that, he seems to be in some danger of espousing a form of ‘scientific fundamentalism’ that is actually as irrational as the religion he believes he is contending with.
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- Written by Liam O'Hanlon
- Category: Weekly Column
This is a summary of the survey carried out by the parish branch of the KSC at all masses on 7/8 November 2009. The purpose was to ascertain possible reasons for the disappointingly low membership to date and to canvass opinion as to any unmet needs that an organisation such as the KSC could or should meet within the parish.
A one-page questionnaire was distributed to all men attending Mass over the weekend. About 250 questionnaires were distributed before Mass and 46 (18%) were returned immediately afterwards. There were 23 new contact details offered. Both these figures were higher than anticipated, which is in itself encouraging. By and large the responses were confined to the printed multiple choice options and little was offered by way of open responses under the heading "other". This may be due to the limited time available for thinking during the Mass itself. What does seem clear is that the men of the parish do see a positive need for an organisation such as the Knights to be active within Our Lady of Lourdes parish, and certain unmet needs were identified. (Women parishioners also exhibited a degree of interest in such an organisation).
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- Written by Simon Barnes
- Category: Weekly Column
Simon Barnes is the chief sportwriter on The Times. Here is his moving account of life with his Down's syndrome son, Eddie.
The thought hit me with such extraordinary power that my legs almost gave way beneath me. I walked a few steps to one of the benches that surround the duck pond on the edge of Barnet, and sat down. My heart was racing, my breathing shallow, I was covered in a sweat, and I thought for a moment that I might pass out or throw up. After a decent while I decided I would do neither. And I got up and went to the supermarket, for my wife was in hospital and was filled with a passion for fresh fruit.
What if he has Down’s syndrome? That was the sudden question that had overwhelmed me. My first child was to be born any day and there were complications, which was why my wife was in hospital. So naturally I was full of nerves, as a first-time parent must be. The duck-pond incident was an attack of the horrors: I imagined a situation so terrible that it almost robbed me of consciousness. Down’s syndrome! The horror, the horror!