Fr Enda Murphy, a priest of the Diocese of Kilmore, has been appointed by the Vatican Secretariat of State to serve in the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments of the Roman Curia. Fr Murphy is a native of Derrylin, Co. Fermanagh. He studied at Queen's University, Belfast, the Gregorian University in Rome and,…

The Government has ruled out removing the controversial direct provision system for asylum seekers and refugees. Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald has said it is “not feasible” to say there are alternatives to direct provision and the Government is instead concentrating on improvements to the system to fast-track application decisions. She said direct provision is “not…

Bishop Brendan Leahy of Limerick was among an Irish delegation of 120 people who travelled to the Focolare summer gathering at Hope University in Liverpool last week. Addressing the summer gathering, jointly hosted by Focolare in the UK and Ireland, Bishop Leahy said that when Focolare started in 1943 the founders could “hardly have imagined…

A survey by Barnardos has found that the overall costs of sending a child to school have gone up this year compared with 2014. It takes €785 to put a child through their first year of secondary school, an increase of €50 and it costs €365 for a senior infant, up €20 euro. The average…

Archbishop Eamon Martin has announced a number of changes to clergy appointments in the Archdiocese of Armagh which will take effect from August 22. The diocese’s two newly ordained priests have been appointed to parishes. Fr Aidan McCann to be CC Dungannon and Fr Brian Slater to be CC St Patrick’s, Dundalk. Three priests, Mgsr…

A postman delivers mail to the former Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary convent in the Los Feliz neighbourhood of Los Angeles. Los Angeles County Superior Court James Chalfant has ruled that the contested sale of the former convent to restaurateur and urban developer Dana Hollister is invalid. Pop singer Katy Perry had offered…

Pro-life campaigners have described as “blatant hypocrisy” calls for an end to Ireland’s constitutional protection of unborn children with life-limiting conditions in the same weeks special Olympians returned home in triumph. Cora Sherlock of the Pro-Life Campaign (PLC) told The Irish Catholic it was hard to fathom that on one hand there are “news reports…

The annual pilgrimage to Máméan in the Maum Turk Mountains in Connemara was held on Sunday with Bishop Brendan Kelly of Achonry (centre) celebrating Mass. Fr Fintan Monahan celebrated Turas na Croise along with sean nós singer Máire Áine Uí Chadhain. Fr Michéal Mac Gréil read liosta na Mairbh. Fr Kieran Burke of Leenane sang…

A Dominican priest accused of preaching a “vitriolic” sermon against gay people has apologised for any “pain and upset” he may have caused. Fr Terence Crotty, OP of St Saviour’s Dominican Priory in Dublin admitted he “deeply regrets” that a homily in which he described gay people as “intrinsically disordered” had caused “pain and upset”.…