A number of years ago I attended a funeral. The man to whom we were saying goodbye had enjoyed a full and rich life. He’d reached the age of 90 and was respected for having been both successful and honest. But he’d always been a strong man, a natural leader, a man who took charge…
Small changes to missal without resources required Dear Editor, I read with interest your lead article (IC 14/09/2017) which indicated that, although permission had been given to change, we will stick with the current missal, largely for resource/cost reasons Could I appeal to the Irish bishops to make a number of small changes back to…
Inés San Martín After statements from several Australian bishops reaffirming Church teaching to Catholics in the country ahead of an upcoming vote on same-sex marriage, two bishops are singing outside the chorus, with one of them saying it’s a “decision each person is free to make”. Bishop Vincent Long Van Nguyen, appointed by Pope Francis…
Junno Arocho Esteves Salesian Father Tom Uzhunnalil was sitting in a room in an unknown location, one of several he had been relocated to during his 18-month imprisonment, when he received some unexpected news. “Those who kept me came to where I slept and said, ‘I bring you good news. We are sending you home.…
Despite goals to end global hunger by 2030, the latest report from the UN shows the number of undernourished people has increased rapidly. The number of people lacking adequate food on the planet increased from 777 million in 2015 to 815 million in 2016. According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations’…
Vatican diplomat embroiled in child pornography case A member of the Vatican diplomatic corps serving in Washington has been recalled to the Vatican as he is involved in a criminal investigation regarding child pornography, the Vatican said. The Vatican was informed by the US State Department “of a possible violation of laws relating to child…
An Irish missionary based in Myanmar has called for Burmese leader, Aung San Suu Kyi to return her Nobel Peace Prize because of her refusal to condemn the “genocide” of Rohingya Muslims in her country. Columban Fr Neil Magill, who has been teaching in Myanmar for 11 years, described the “brutal persecution against the Rohingya…
Belgium’s Brothers of Charity Group, which runs 15 centres for psychiatric patients, has rejected a Vatican order to stop offering euthanasia. The organisation said that it “always took into account shifts and evolutions within society”, and “emphatically believed” its euthanasia program was consistent with the doctrine of the Catholic Church. “We take unbearable and hopeless…
Many young people are en-route to “tragedy” owing to homelessness, according to Focus Ireland, highlighting a 98% increase since 2014 of homeless people aged 18-24. Sr Stan Kennedy opened the ‘Youth Homelessness in Limerick today’ event in Thomond Park Conference Centre and called for greater action to be taken in order to support the 826…
The UK’s Labour party are creating a new group in order to reach out to the country’s Catholics. Nine MPs are launching a ‘Catholics for Labour’ group this Sunday which will focus on social justice and will be guided by Catholic social teaching. Labour politician Mike Kane MP, currently shadow schools minister, said there are…
Fr Ronald Rolheiser
Mags Gargan
Chai Brady