Hungary’s Parliament passed a law December 15 defining the family as having a woman as the mother and a man as the father, effectively banning adoptions by same-sex couples and complicating adoptions by single people. The change is the latest of several to be made in recent years in what the government has said are…
Traditions offer us a Christmas full of meaning, writes Jason Osborne This year we find ourselves moving thorough an Advent like no other, facing a Christmas like no other. Forced apart by the year’s events, the chances of enjoying the cosiness and warmth – both social and physical – so typical of the season seem…
Fr Seamus Enright of the Limerick Redemptorists praised the “great generosity” of the Irish public as their 2020 Sitout, rather than the usual SleepOut, elicited an outpouring of support. Positive reaction “The people were generous, there was a positive reaction. It was hard work, but good,” Fr Enright told The Irish Catholic. Fr Enright said…
Catholic bishops in northeast Italy have said that the risk of illness amid the ongoing pandemic constitutes a “grave necessity” permitting priests to confer the Sacrament of Reconciliation under the “third form,” also called general absolution, before and during the Christmas season. General absolution is a form of the Sacrament of Reconciliation which may be…
Paul Healy The entire world is hurting from the Covid-19 crisis, but it’s in places like Somalia where you see how the pandemic is tipping people who were already desperately poor over the edge. Somalia is a country already struggling due to conflict and the awful impact of climate change. Now a global pandemic has…
Three years after taking in 2-year-old Inimffon Uwamobong and her younger brother, Sister Matylda Iyang finally heard from the mother who had abandoned them. “Their mother came back and told me that she (Inimffon) and her younger sibling are witches, asking me to throw them out of the convent,” said Sister Iyang, who oversees the…
The life of Fr Patrick Peyton, an Irish priest who travelled the world promoting the rosary, is documented in the new documentary-style film, PRAY: The Story of Patrick Peyton. The film is produced by Fr Peyton’s own company, Family Theater Productions, famed for producing family-friendly content. Fr Peyton is remembered for his advocacy of both…
God remains the key ingredient, young couples tell Jason Osborne Relationships have changed a lot in recent decades, with rates of dating, engagement and marriage plummeting amongst the young. According to the Central Statistics Office, the average age of marriage for a bride in Ireland is 34.8 years old, while it’s 36.8 for the groom.…
Mount Sion CBS has become Ireland’s first ‘School of Sanctuary’ following an assessment process undertaken by the Places of Sanctuary Ireland charity in recent weeks, after years of welcoming students from many different nationalities to the school. A School of Sanctuary is “committed to creating a safe, welcoming and inclusive environment that benefits everybody, including…
Toddlers could hardly contain their excitement as they danced in the church aisles to the Holy Missionary Choir’s Christmas songs during a celebration that was a bright star of hope for Iraqi Syriac Catholic refugee families. While the little ones are too young to know their ancestral roots, Christmas memories for their parents are those…