Month: March 2018

A Bible-Studying Parish

Episode 5 brings John Quinn into conversation with Anne McGrath and Robert Poynton at Marley Grange Parish in Dublin to discuss their ecumenical bible study, which has been meeting each week over the past decade. Their chat looks at the importance and value of ecumenism, the joys and challenges of reading God’s word on a…

McAleese did not make pro-abortion remark

  Sources close to former President Mary McAleese have said that she was “seriously misquoted” by national and international media in relation to a comment about abortion. Mrs McAleese is said to be wrongly reported by the BBC, RTÉ the Irish Independent, Breitbart the South China Morning Post and many others today, Friday March 9,…

There’s something about Mary…

A look back at our 2015 profile of the former president of Ireland, Mary McAleese   Four years, almost to the day, since she retired after 14 momentous years as eighth President of Ireland, Mary McAleese, devout and questioning Catholic, stateswoman, peacemaker, Pope Francis admirer, qualified Canon lawyer, wife, mother and grandmother, is relishing the…

Chaplains bemoan ‘fire-fighting’ conditions facing hospital patients

Nurses find it increasingly difficult to maintain a high-level of personal contact with patients given the crowded conditions in many hospitals, a chaplains’ representative has said. Fr Gerry Byrne of the National Association of Healthcare Chaplains told The Irish Catholic that many nurses and other hospital staff find themselves constantly in fire-fighting mode. He also…

Clerical abuse small proportion of national rate – Garda

A new report on child abuse has revealed that clerical abuse makes up a statistically negligible proportion of abuse in Ireland. The Garda Inspectorate’s Responding to Child Sexual Abuse states that although clerical and institutional cases are reported and investigated every year, they form “a small proportion” of the overall number of cases investigated. The…

Why Youth Retreats?

“It has been the best day of my life.” This is the verdict of a twenty-year-old third level student – no, not at the end of a day of retreat, but in a quiet moment at the end of a day spent working at the construction of a humble little home for a needy Indian…