Christian freedom means respecting other cultures and traditions rather than finding ways to impose “one’s own model of life as though it were the most evolved and the most appealing,” Pope Francis has said. “How many errors have been made in the history of evangelization by seeking to impose a single cultural model,” the Pope…
Jason Osborne and Chai Brady Prominent Catholic laywomen have described comments from a priest comparing the Church’s treatment of women to the extremists of the Taliban as “very offensive”. Fr Roy Donovan, one of the clerics leading the Association of Catholic Priests, defended his comments this week admitting that it was an “extreme” comparison but…
The current trend pushing for a public holiday commemorating St Brigid as a ‘celtic goddess’ is “disingenuous” and “reflects people’s ignorance of history”, a prominent Church historian has said. Recent trends, including a campaign to make St Brigid’s day Ireland’s new public holiday, have emphasised the Celtic, pre-Christian goddess Bríg, rather than the “genuine, historical…
A leading moral theologian welcomed an intervention by Bishop Kevin Doran, who stressed the importance of having theological faculties in all Irish universities. Fr Twomey, author of The End of Irish Catholicism? and a retired professor of moral theology, said Bishop Doran’s call “struck me as quite a breakthrough and is to be applauded”. He…
The HSE confirmed that over €3 million was paid out to General Practitioners in 2020 for providing abortion, in response to a question from Laois-Offaly TD Carol Nolan. Meanwhile, just over €17,000 was spent on post-abortion care for women. Commenting on the answer she received from the HSE, Deputy Nolan said the response makes it…
A nationwide pro-life billboard campaign has been launched by pro-life groups to draw attention to the large increase in terminations since the repeal of the 8th amendment. Iona Institute The Life Institute and the Iona Institute launched the campaign last week and are urging that the forthcoming abortion review look into the negative outcomes of…
Anti-Semitism must be rooted out in Ireland according to a Cork-based priest following the publication of a damning independent report last week. The report, collated by investigative journalist and activist David Collier over many years, included searches of the social media pages of multiple Irish politicians. It found hundreds of instances of the spread of…
Harry Lennix, known for roles in The Matrix Reloaded and Batman v Superman, said his time studying for the priesthood helped him answer “profound questions” in his acting. The American actor studied for five years to be a Dominican priest, and was beginning the process of ordination when he turned to acting. “You have to…
Catholic activists have called on the PSNI and the North’s politicians to act now to eradicate paramilitary-style violence, as gangs continue to exploit disadvantaged communities. As the PSNI reported 40 paramilitary style assaults so far this year, Fr Martin Magill of the Stop Attacks campaign called on politicians to speak out against a “culture of…
Pro-life leaders in Texas responded to a federal judge blocking Texas’ pro-life “heartbeat” law, just more than one month after the law went into effect. In a ruling on Wednesday, October 6, Judge Robert Pitman of the Western District of Texas ceased enforcement of the law by the state. The Texas Heartbeat Act limits most…
Chai Brady
Ruadhán Jones