Michael KellyChanging legislation in Britain could prompt copycat policies in Ireland, writes Michael Kelly
Month: September 2015
Indian missionaries to boost clerical numbers in Waterford
Mags GarganThree Indian missionaries have been invited to serve in the Diocese of Waterford & Lismore this year, as Irish vocations continue to decrease. Two priests with the Heralds of Good News, a missionary society founded in India, will begin their ministry in Ireland in October and a third will follow after Christmas. Bishop Phoncie Cullinan…
The World of Books
Courtney McGrailBooks Editor The view from the priest’s window In recent years we have seen the publication of many memoirs by Irish missionary priests. Dealing as they do with exotic lands, and often troubled people, these books are always of interest. There is always something in them for us stay-at-homes to learn. But perhaps what we…
Conversations about the meaning of faith
The Faith and Life Convention offers Catholics the opportunity to celebrate their faith
Mixed messages for migrants from Hungary’s hierarchy
A Hungarian bishop has challenged Pope Francis’ appeal for Catholics to open their communities as sanctuaries for refugees from the Middle East. Szeged-Csanád Bishop Laszlo Kiss-Rigo, whose diocese in southern Hungary is experiencing some of Europe’s heaviest migrant flows, denies that most of those arriving are refugees. “This is an invasion,” he said, “they come…
World News In Brief
Bishops back Indian strikes India’s Catholic Church supported some 150 million workers on a nationwide strike that shut down factories, banks, traffic and government offices on September 2. “The Church is in solidarity with striking workers because we are concerned about their welfare,” according to Jaipur’s Bishop Oswald Lewis, head of the Indian bishops’ labour office, adding that…
Papal visit to Cuba is a well-timed sign
Pope Francis’ visit to Cuba is a sign of his closeness to the nation’s people at a time they “breathe the air of hope” that relations with the US will improve, according to Guantanamo-Baracoa’s Bishop Wilfredo Pino Estevez. “It’s not easy to live at odds with your next door neighbour,” Bishop Pino wrote in a…
Negotiations underway to free Syrian captives
Fr Jacques Mourad and about 270 Christians and Muslims taken hostage by jihadi militias in southeast Syria are alive, and are in a “stable and secure” condition, according to local sources, who say Church leaders are conducting negotiations through mediators in an attempt to obtain the captives’ release. The Syrian priest was kidnapped on May…
Cremisan Valley Wall will “devastate Christian population”
The Cremisan Valley Wall is “the last nail in Bethlehem’s coffin” according to the Catholic centre for human rights working under the patronage of Jerusalem’s Latin Patriarchate. A 90-page report by the centre, according to the Patriarchate, analyses the implications of the separation wall built by Israeli authorities in the valley, largely on Palestinian land…
Presidential hopefuls back jailed clerk
At least two American presidential hopefuls have backed Kim Davis, the Kentucky county clerk who has been jailed for contempt of court after refusing to register same-sex marriages. Ms Davis, who served as Rowan County’s deputy county clerk for 25 years to November last when she was elected county clerk, stopped issuing marriage licenses in…