Letters

I strongly oppose assisted suicide. I would like to share my experience of living with a chronic illness. It has been 23 years since I was first diagnosed. The condition is managed well with medication, individuals have a normal life expectancy. However in 2022, I developed reactions to the newer brands because of toxicity levels. I wrote extensively about the newer brands and their side effects. ... Read More

The proposed Assisted Dying Bill to be introduced in Parliament tomorrow will radically change how we care for the sick and elderly. I have accompanied six people at the end of their lives to their deaths. Every death is different, but all valued a caring presence being with them on their final journey to a natural death. It was an immense and valued privilege. At one time people died within the f... Read More

In response to recent enquiries about materials used in the new Lectionary, Pierpaolo Finaldi, Publisher and CEO of the Catholic Truth Society writes: The Introduction to the Lectionary states: "Since, in liturgical celebrations the books too serve as signs and symbols of the sacred, care must be taken to ensure that they truly are worthy and beautiful." This means using the finest materials possi... Read More

Dear Editor, How sad it is that the new Lectionary is "exquisitely bound in padded leather", to quote the Catholic Truth Society, which is selling it at £695, which price no doubt reflects the luxuriousness of the product. The way the animals are treated to obtain their skins is far from luxurious, and is environmentally harmful. See: https://headlines.peta.org/urge-brands-stop-selling-leather/... Read More

As an academic I felt the least I could do was attend the memorial service of the former Chevening Scholar Dr Maysara Al-Rayes, murdered in Gaza by Israel on 5th November 2023. He won this prestigious British Government prize in 2019 for his excellence as a war trauma specialist. (See the announcement of his death here: www.kcl.ac.uk/news/in-memory-of-dr-maisara-alrayyes ). I was heartened to hea... Read More

Dear Editor, The early Catholic church seems to have had a very dynamic beginning; the acts of the apostles are filled with very interesting examples of how the Holy Spirit worked in partnership with them. For example telling Phillip to catch up with the Ethiopian eunuch's chariot and make that first African convert; or Annanias being instructed in a vision to visit Saul and pray for his healing. ... Read More

On the 26 August 2024, Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, called on global leaders to drastically slash global greenhouse gas emissions and pursue a "fast and fair" phase out of fossil fuels. He was seeking to build momentum for action before the COP29 climate summit in Azerbaijan in November. He called for a "massive" increase in finance and support for vulnerable countrie... Read More

Dear ICN, I write to be sure you have noticed the remarkable start the new Government has made towards tacking the problems of the prisons - about which I continue to have a deep interest and concern. You may be aware that on 25th June the Prison Governors Association had written an open letter to all the political parties highlighting and explaining the prison crisis and asking all parties to pre... Read More

Thank you for publishing 'Fr Shay Cullen: True freedom is to reveal the truth without retaliation' - https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/50094 - Jun 30th, 2024 It's so important that he highlighted the shocking treatment of Julian Assange, incarcerated for so many years for telling the truth, and the dangers faced by media workers around the world, especially in the Philippines. We mustn't forge... Read More

Dear ICN, As a service to Catholics, I am appalled at the one-sided and frankly denigratory review of the recent Vatican document Dignitas Infinita. Unfinished Dignity: Some Reflections On Dignitas Infinita - https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/49556 The whole tone of your correspondent is condescending and almost sneering. As someone involved in education as my footer may show, the clear doctrin... Read More

Dear Willie I feel the need to write to you posthumously after your execution to remember our friendship and companionship over 13 years. It was the organisation 'Lifelines' that put us in touch and we used to correspond regularly after that. I was sorry that I could not meet you in person but I knew from the start that you were a generous and warm hearted person. We used to share our joys and... Read More

Nadia, who has written for us in the past, is a young widow with small children and a sick mother. She has been forced to move several since Israel's onslaught on Gaza began five months ago. The family are now in a desperately overcrowded camp - with the continuous noise of drones and planes overhead and sounds of explosions all night. She writes: Do you know what it means to live in a tent?! Thi... Read More

Have you ever wondered how Palestinians both in Palestine and in the diaspora feel about the ongoing ethnic cleansing ? How Palestinians perceive the dehumanization perpetuated not only by their colonizers but also by the western media, and some governments around the world granting apartheid Israel carte blanche and impunity to continue their war crimes against the Palestinian people? Have you co... Read More

Dear Friends, Christmas greetings from Friends House Moscow. Here is a link to our latest newsletter, now available on our website: Newsletter Winter 2023 - Friends House Moscow To read it, click on the "DOWNLOAD" button. From here you can save a copy, or print it, or just read it online. As you will see, we are currently operating in several countries: Russia, Ukraine, Estonia and Armenia. We ... Read More