Traditional Catholics welcomed for Knock pilgrimage The National Traditional Pilgrimage, set up under the auspices of the Archbishop of Tuam in 2002, will kick off on September 1 this year. In establishing this, Archbishop Neary expressed the wish that all traditional Catholics in good standing with an attachment to the older liturgical norms, now termed ‘The Extraordinary Form’ would be…
Dear Editor, I’m sure most people by now have heard about the Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report which details the widespread sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. The content of the document is horrific and shows just how deep the Church is entrenched in this crisis. This wasn’t the action of fringe or isolated clerics, but…
The Notebook This weekend’s visit by Pope Francis will inevitably rekindle many memories of the only previous papal visit to our shores. In September 1979 when Pope John Paul arrived I had been a seminarian for just one month. As you can imagine I was already full of idealism and religious zeal and to…
Ask practising Catholics to tell you about their Church and their faith, and on the whole, you get glowing reports. There will be complaints, and stories of inadequacies, and reservations about this or that teaching, and no one knows the faults of the Church — collectively, and in this or that place — better than…
The Pope in Ireland Pope Francis has been unyielding in his pursuit of peace, writes Greg Daly Once it was announced that Dublin would host the 2018 World Meeting of Families, there was little delay before speculation began over whether Pope Francis would come to Ireland and whether, if so, he would visit the…
Pope Francis: A Man of his Word (PG) St Francis of Assisi travelled to the Holy Land 800 years ago to try and end a war. Today his successor is continuing that journey. Pope Francis – ‘Papa Francesco!’ to the crowds who swarm around him in his native Argentina – has made it his mission to continue the work of his…
While advance coverage of this week’s papal visit was largely negative, there was one programme at least that struck a positive note. True North: The Pope and I (BBC1, Wednesday) was an affectionate, sometimes whimsical look at the reaction of various people from Northern Ireland to the recent popes and especially to the 1979 visit…
Four Offaly Saints: The Lives of Ciarán of Clonmacnoise, Ciarán of Seir, Colmán of Lynally and Fíonán of Kinnitty by Pádraig Ó Riain (Four Courts Press, €14.95) Homilists and those interested in the early history of Ireland are indebted to Ó Riain for his splendid Dictionary of Irish Saints. For much of his professional life he…
WMOF 2018 Pilgrims without tickets to official events with Pope Francis will have a chance to see the Pontiff on a drive through Dublin, officials have announced. The Pope will be driven through Dublin city centre in his ‘Popemobile’ on Saturday afternoon giving the public the first opportunity to see him during his historic…
WMOF 2018 Pope Francis has said he is “excited” to return to Ireland, and indicated it may be an opportunity for Catholics and Protestants across the island to reach out to one another. Speaking specifically to the “Irish family” in a August 21 video message ahead of the World Meeting of Families, Francis said:…
Michael Kelly
Greg Daly
Aubrey Malone
Brendan O’Regan