On Religion, Politics and Social Affairs relevant to today.
I note with some concern the rambling article of your columnist Fionola Meredith (Comment, June 16). This article display a total lack of knowledge and is grossly offensive and arrogant in its assertiveness, when it argues in support of active discrimination. That, in itself, is a total negation of the equality she advocates. On her own admission she is certainly
Read moreThe twenty-fifth of May 2017, to quote President Franklin Roosevelt, is “A date which will live in infamy”, when the Church of Scotland decided to go down the road of approving same-sex marriage. The spokesperson of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland has quite rightly responded to the decision of the Church of Scotland by stating: “At the same time many
Read moreI read with interest the comments from Philip Campbell, Secretary of Caleb (B.T. 24th May), when he again appeals “to voters to support candidates who will defend Biblical standards of morality.” While it might well be a worthy call to support those who oppose “same-sex ‘marriage’ and support of the unborn child”, there is surely more to Biblical standards of
Read moreLook to rich history of local Gaelic speakers I read with interest the article by your Columnist Lindy McDowell (BT 10th May) entitled “How Protestants have flown the flag for Irish, even if some of us can only name pieces of household furniture”. While Lindy reminded us of Irish (Gaelic) speakers of the past like Edward Carson and contemporaries like
Read moreNow that some unionist politicians are to “listen to and engage with those from the Gaelic Irish background, . . . people who genuinely love the Irish language and don’t want to use it as a political weapon”, perhaps they might like to reflect on some historical facts: The language of the Gael was not a particular problem some 400
Read moreA Truth and Reconciliation Committee will have little credibility in this post-truth age I note with some interest the response to the Sky News interview with Gerry Adams TD, and his offer to talk about his long-alleged involvement in the IRA, if an independent truth commission was established. I also note the response of Doug Beattie, MLA (News Letter, April
Read moreBuried Lives: The Protestants of Southern Ireland (Publisher: The History Press Ireland £17.99) by Robin Bury “How Protestants were all but ethnically cleansed in South” This book complements work already done by previous academics, like Peter Hart, Gerard Murphy, Marcus Tanner and others. It comes from the pen of one who grew up, among that community, in the latter half
Read moreDear Sir, Much praise has been given, and rightly so, to the speech by Enda Kenny on St Patrick’s Day in Washington. Knowing that the media can only broadcast sound bites, I have checked this against the Government Website. It is unfortunate that An Taoiseach omitted some salient facts, which distort the contribution made by our forefathers from this island
Read moreDear Sir, In preparation for the upcoming election on 2 March the media have given a voice to the views of all those who are seeking election. They have however given little voice to the largest section of the voting populace – the non voters. Voices have been expressed in the press from individuals, and groups like Caleb, “urg(ing) evangelical
Read moreDear Sir, The continuing controversy of the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme persists to plague the political establishment. The Oxford Dictionaries Word of the Year 2016 ‘post-truth’ is well chosen. The political class and the media in general appear to have missed two essential points which the tax paying public require to know in order to begin to establish some kind
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