The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has insisted that a conscience protection Bill currently before Congress is vital in protecting medical professionals from being compelled to carry out abortions. In a letter to lawmakers, Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, chair of the bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, and Archbishop William Lori, chair of…
It has been reported that Muslims in the frontline Iraqi city of Mosul have prepared the Virgin Mary Chaldean church for the benefit of Christian families returning after the left-bank of the coty was liberated from the grip of so-called Islamic State (ISIS). Having served as a logistical base for the terror group during its…
A survey on proposals for a new primary school course in religion, beliefs and ethics used leading questions and drew from an unrepresentative sample, a prominent research institute has found. A study for the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) analysed an online survey conducted by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) to…
Our attitude towards the disabled is something we must seriously consider as we debate abortion, writes David Quinn One of the issues that has given rise to the very strong possibility of an abortion referendum in the next year or two is that of unborn babies diagnosed with a life-limiting disability, also known as a…
A new community of the Servant Sisters of the Home of the Mother will be established in Roscommon at the invitation of the Bishop of Elphin. Last week Bishop Kevin Doran visited the Servant Sisters of the Home of the Mother Cantabria in the north of Spain to finalise the agreement with Mother Ana Maria…
Delays in how the Vatican tackles cases of priests accused of abuse continue to be a concern for Irish bishops, a spokesman for the hierarchy has confirmed. Addressing Australia’s royal commission into the institutional handling of abuse allegations earlier this month, Teresa Devlin, CEO of the Irish Church’s safeguarding board, said she believed that Ireland’s…
The Land of Far Beyond, The First Christmas and other Stories, Noah’s Ark and other Stories from the Old Testament by Enid Blyton (Hodder Children’s Books, £10.99 each) One has to feel some sympathy with the ghost of Enid Blyton if she were to return to see what has been done to her children’s books,…
Ten questions based on Catholic Social Teaching for Catholics to ask candidates standing in the Assembly elections: What will you do to address the unacceptable levels of childhood poverty in Northern Ireland and the widening gap between rich and poor? What will you do to uphold the right to life of unborn children and adults…
Tributes have been paid to the former Archbishop of Dublin, Cardinal Desmond Connell, “a just, holy, prayerful man, aware of his own failings” who died peacefully on Tuesday at the age of 90. Born in Dublin in 1926, and ordained by Archbishop John Charles McQuaid in 1951, Cardinal Connell would go on to become a…
Dear Editor, Like Fr Tom Whelan (‘Fresh Mass translation ‘a long shot’’ IC 02/02/2017), I agree that the “pragmatics of administrators will win out,” when it comes to the future of the largely unloved 2011 translation of the Roman Missal. Its turgid prose, erratic use of capital letters and badly designed presentation of prayers in…
Courtney McGrail
Greg Daly
David Quinn
Mags Gargan
Peter Costello