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…
Large crowds have been in attendance to venerate a relic of Mother Teresa, which is being brought across the island by the Knights of St Columbanus. It is in Ballaghdreen Cathedral, Co. Roscommon from today until Saturday, before being brought to Tuam Cathedral, Co. Galway until next Monday (June 26). From August 11 the Cathedral…
Four years of Pope Francis notwithstanding, it remains generally true in Europe that the more overtly Catholic a political party is, the more likely it is to advocate a restrictive line on immigration. That’s the case with the Law and Justice party in Poland, for instance, as well as Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party in Hungary,…
Political rhetoric is becoming more and more divisive, more and more extreme. Mere disagreement is becoming rarer. What’s become commonplace is hurling anathema at those you disagree with. It’s not merely that a person is wrong, it’s that they must be wicked because they are wrong. In the field of religion, intense disagreements, sometimes turning…
“Everybody’s got a hungry heart,” says Christopher West, quoting Bruce Springsteen and observing in an echo of St Augustine’s opening observation from the start of his Confessions that “we all have a deep ache and hunger in our hearts for something”. All set for a speaking tour of Ireland early next month, West, the best-known…
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…
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.…
The Dalai Lama will be returning to the city of Derry on September 10, in order to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the charity, Children in Crossfire. The Dalai Lama, a dedicated patron of Children in Crossfire, will be guest of honour at a public talk entitled ‘Compassion in Action’, which will aim to encourage…
“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…
Fr 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
John L. Allen Jr.
David Quinn
Greg Daly
Mags Gargan
Colm Fitzpatrick