Colm FitzpatrickFr Patrick Mulholland, parish priest of St Patrick's, Portaferry takes a drink at St Cooey's wells, Portaferry with Fr Eddie McGee and Fr John McManus after celebrating Mass for the annual pilgrimage which attracted over 100 pilgrims to mark National Holy Wells day. Photo: Bill Smyth
Month: June 2017
Southern Africa celebrates 200 years of Catholicism
The Catholic Church in Southern Africa will celebrate 200 years of existence for a whole year beginning this month. An inaugural Mass of Thanksgiving will be held in Cape Town’s St Mary’s Cathedral of Our Lady of the Flight into Egypt on June 25, which will begin the celebrations. On June 7, 1818, Pope Pius…
Irish people still hold life very dear – Mickey Harte
Mags Gargan
Tyrone football manager Mickey Harte has said that despite the impression given by the media, he believes that most Irish people “still hold life very precious and very dear”. Speaking to The Irish Catholic in advance of addressing the annual Ceiliuradh Cois Life dinner for pro-life education last Friday, he said that while the media…
Public is split on Good Friday drinking ban
The public is split almost exactly 50/50 on whether or not we should change our Good Friday drinking laws, with the greatest opposition coming from young people, according to new research. The poll, conducted by Amárach Research and commissioned by The Iona Institute, found that 51% of the public supports a lifting of the alcohol…
Priest warns of water dangers as man drowns
Chai Brady
A priest who is a volunteer coastguard has been warning parishioners of the many hazards related to water he sees each summer as temperatures rise. With the recent hot weather, Wexford priest Fr Tom Dalton highlighted issues such as cold water shock and the dangers of inflatable toys. With many children jumping into water in…
Bid to set a new record for Global Rosary Relay
Global Rosary Relay for Priests is striving to set a new record of global participation this week. 10 million are estimated to join in prayer for the Rosary Relay this year, according to Worldpriest. As midnight comes on June 23, the Feast of the Sacred Heart, the relay will begin in a new shrine in…
Church aids students affected by London fire
Church agencies are helping London Catholic school students cope with the trauma of the Grenfell Tower fire. With pupils confirmed missing and the death toll rising the tragedy devastated the local community. John Paul Morrison, the Director of Education for the Archdiocese of Westminster, said the archdiocese was offering counselling to students. “What they have…
What I mean when I say the ‘dustbin of history’
Bríd Smith The Irish Catholic (June 8, 2017) reports me speaking during Dáil statements on the Mother and Baby Homes on June 1 as saying that the Church should be put in the dustbin. This was taken from the official report of Dáil proceedings as published on the website of the Houses of the Oireachtas.…
Mercy and morality: Capuchins, Cork and the theology of hunger strikes
Greg Daly
“A hunger strike to death is a form of violence to one’s self and violence leads to violence,” wrote the then Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster, Basil Hume, to Derry’s Archbishop Edward Daly in April 1981, prompting a heated debate in these islands’ Catholic newspapers. After Bobby Sands died the following month, Dr Daly observed that…
Drink-driving: the morality and science
Mary Kenny
I’m a great admirer of temperance movements and the positive message they have to impart: you can have the greatest fun without getting plastered. Not only can you enjoy life to the fullest – you can even remember what you enjoyed! And yet I also learned from a tolerant point made by Alcoholics Anonymous: most…