There was shock in media circles today when this week's edition of the Irish Catholic included an article by Michael Kelly with a direct quotation with attribution to the original author:  “History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again.” (Maya Angelou).  Now there's an ironic quote.

The article was a moving piece on his visit to Auschwitz.

Particularly moving was this section on St Maximilian Kolbe:
 
During the Second World War (19...
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Here's a little experiment.  On a Monday night I try and prophesy what will appear in the Old Irish Farmer's Tosh on Wednesday.  If the prophecy comes true it probably means that Copy Kat Kelly has been reading and borrowed the ideas.  And if it doesn't appear then probably Tosher O'Sullivan has been reading and he couldn't bear that I might be right so he'll rush into work and remove the references.

So this week's prophecy - some piece of liberal crap about Archliberal Ted Kennedy. 

By the wa...
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Well I suppose, as one correspondent reminded me, it's good to know that The Irish Catholic is reading my blog.  I'd forgotten that I'd referred to the IC as containing "old tosh".  Obviously the editor likes to keep his bitter little memories.  At least when he reads my blog he might learn something about the Catholic faith - more than he ever learned with the Jesuits clearly.

But I better watch out that my posts don't end up in the paper, you know the way the deputy editor has a fondness for...
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Something unusual happened to me today.  This morning I submitted a letter for publication to The Irish Catholic.  I have previously had letters published there on a number of topics.  So this morning I emailed the following letter:

Since 2007 bishops, priests and lay people around the world have been resigning from Amnesty International in protest at its decision to begin supporting legal access to abortion as a human right. 

Renato Cardinal Martino, then President of the Pontifical Council...

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And more from the Irish Catholic.

Interesting the mistakes and lines taken.  Story this week includes lead "the bishop of Ossory...has allowed a Sunday Latin Mass in the Extraordinary Form in his diocese".

Now it's presented as good news after 18 months of petitioning and negotiation.  The reality of course is that the bishop of Ossory has no authority to allow or disallow Mass in the Extraordinary Form in his diocese.  The Holy Father removed that control in Summorum Pontificum.  So perhaps th...
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The Irish Catholic (Michael Kelly) has launced a campaign to have Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty, the Scarlet Pimpernel of the Vatican, declared a Righteous Gentile.  

There's nothing much wrong with this, except maybe that I think he was already declared one - the Irish Examiner says the tree was planted in 2003.

But apart from that, I think in principle Catholics should have nothing to do with the whole procedure until at a minimum they stop attacking Pope Pius XII.  And really until they declare ...
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In shocking news, the Irish Catholic tomorrow will reveal that, while pretending to be all even handed, it supported the Obama invitation to Notre Dame.  The editor quotes the Left Hand extensively without a word of opposition.  Each of the Obamanable statements on dialogue, openness, hope and even conscience is taken at face value.  O'Sullivan gushes:  "It is quite amazing to hear a politician speak in such Gospel language."

But hang on, wasn't George Bush a genuine believing Christian who wa...
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One doesn't really like to harp on about the Irish Catholic when it's so bad, but then it's so bad that one has to harp on about it.  We've had the relentless attempts to push the ordination of women, disguised as scripture commentary from Jerome Murphy O'Connor and some American feminist, or was that Gary O'Sullivan - hard to tell them apart.  We've had interviews with the looney Abbot of Glenstall who believes in tarot cards but not atonement and whose face the Irish Catholic had the incred...
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Belfast has moved into Armagh and the Irish Catholic is the first to break the news.

Last week I emailed the Irish Catholic "out and about" section to get a notice in about the upcoming Mass to celebrate 75 years of Carmel in Belfast (3.00pm in the Poor Clares, Belfast on Saturday 16th May - all welcome).

The notice appeared today, listed under "Armagh".
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