Does Catholic opinion deserve special reverence in Ireland?
No, says Fr Gerry O’Hanlon, but we would all benefit from a more civil debate
Pope Francis meeting President Michael D Higgins at the Vatican last May: The Catholic Church came late to the awareness of the value of Church-State separation and the autonomy of the secular. Photograph: PA Wire
Is it time to reboot the relationship between religious believers and atheists? Recent years have been characterised by noisy and often self-defeating arguments. Some humanist atheists appear so eager to convert others they forget that they’re supposed to be believe in freedom of conscience.
Some Christians are so keen to demonise secularism that they ignore the secular state is the best protector of religious freedom (a point acknowledged by Pope Francis).