Concerns have been raised at a lack of progress in talks to prevent violence during this year’s marching season in the North, as a senior Orange Order member warmed of “immense anger”. Fr Gary Donegan of Holy Cross church in Ardoyne, Belfast, told The Irish Catholic that while there has been “no direct contact with…

Staff Reporter Funny-man Jim Gaffigan has spoken of his family’s firm faith ahead of the launch of his new TV series chronicling their lives as Catholics. The US stand-up comedian, actor and author said his faith is “very associated with the notion of mercy”. “I understand that there is something greater than myself that does…

A prominent abuse survivor has welcomed a new realism and sense of urgency in how the Church is dealing with abuse and child protection.  “Maybe it’s becoming more difficult for people in leadership to stay in place when their positions are untenable, and it’s good that resignations are being accepted more quickly,” Marie Collins told…

Humans primarily responsible for climate change, draft warns

Poland's bishops have pledged to resist changes to Catholic teaching on marriage and family life at October’s synod on the family and have rejected reform demands from some German and Austrian Catholics. “We certainly won't be going in the theological direction presented by certain German-speaking circles”, said Poznan’s Archbishop Stanislaw Gadecki, president of the bishops'…

The head of the Chaldean Catholic Church, Louis Raphael I Sako, Patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans, has told refugees from the city of Mosul that he hopes they can soon return to their homeland.  Addressing his scattered flock through a letter published by Catholic news agencies, the patriarch recalled how a year has passed…

A leading Catholic theologian has said the result of the same-sex marriage referendum last month should be a “wake-up call” for the Church. Fr Vincent Twomey told The Irish Catholic that the Church “has to be ready now to become the only opposition to the dominant forces that are trying to shape society”. “This should…

The Pro Life Campaign (PLC) has said that it is unacceptable that the HSE might not investigate circumstances surrounding abortions in Irish hospitals. Responding to reports of how staff at a Leinster hospital were concerned that an abortion was granted to a woman who presented as pregnant and suicidal, despite her having no history of…

Staff Reporter A retired couple who collected almost €3million after winning a share in the Lotto jackpot are planning on treating themselves to a trip to the final resting place of Saint Padre Pio. The married pair from Dun Laoghaire, Dublin scooped €2,905,586 in a recent National Lottery draw. The lucky husband said he and…