“The ‘exorcism’ lasted 10 seconds. When Pope Francis arrived, he immediately rested his left hand on the young man’s head and spoke with a priest standing behind the wheelchair. The young man kissed the pope’s ring, suggesting that the devil was not in total control.” Photograph: AP/APTN

Column: I saw no exorcism in St Peter’s Square last Sunday, because nothing of the kind occurred

People hold candles at the annual Console “service of light” in St Patrick’s Chapel,  Maynooth College, last December, to remember those who have died by suicide. Photograph: Aidan Crawley

Column: There is no talk about what happens to men when their relationships break down, or what role society might play

Amber Weiss and Sharon Papo walk through City Hall in San Francisco after exchanging wedding vows on the first full day of legal same-sex marriages there in 2008. “Abortion, euthanasia, homosexual marriage – all these have in common that they represent a repudiation of existing understandings and belief systems.” Photograph: Erin Siegal/Reuters

Column: It is difficult to identify where journalism ends and ideology begins

Members of the Pro-Life Campaign in a protest outside the Dáil this week. Photograph: Alan Betson

Column: The destination of what is termed the ‘liberal’ agenda is the unpicking of the prevailing social edifice

Frankie Gavin of De Dannan is being honoured in Verona today, but he must work most of the year abroad to make a living. Photograph: Brenda Fitzsimons

Ireland is home to some extraordinary talent, yet they often need to travel far to be recognised as such

A participant in an anti-austerity march in Dublin last November. Photograph: Alan Betson

Artificial scarcity is imposed to satisfy markets in absurd system

President Michael D Higgins and European Parliament president Martin Schulz address journalists during a press briefing at the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday. Photograph: Fred Marvaux

In his speech to the European Parliament, President Michael D Higgins lived up to every expectation we could have had of him

“Ideally, an Irish male ‘conservative’ should wear a tweed sports jacket over a báinín sweater concealing an extravagantly frayed shirt, with a tie knot peeping up over the neck of the sweater. A fáinne or pioneer pin brings added points.” Photograph: David Sleator

What appear to be debates are now more usually summary trials that generate heat but no light

“If marriage no longer needs to be something that involves a male and a female, why does it have to involve just two of either sex?”

Surely everyone knows the SpunOut initiative is part of a long-term strategy to restore the Celtic Tiger?

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