Approximately 40 Burmese soldiers forcibly took control of a Catholic cathedral in Mandalay prior to a Lenten prayer service on Friday and detained an archbishop and dozens of other worshippers, including a correspondent for CNA. The soldiers entered Sacred Heart Cathedral at 2:30 pm local time April 8 and refused to allow worshipers to leave.…
‘Stolen’ Darwin manuscripts anonymously returned Two Charles Darwin manuscripts that were reported as stolen from Cambridge University Library have been anonymously returned in a pink gift bag, with a typed note on an envelope wishing a Happy Easter to the librarian. The precious items were found to be missing in 2001, but at the time…
US bishops receive Blessed Carlo Acutis relic The US bishops recently welcomed a relic of Blessed Carlo Acutis. It is the teenager’s pericardium, or the sac that protected his heart. “I now bring to you the relic of the pericardium, which is the membrane that surrounds the heart of a new blessed,” Archbishop Domenico Sorrentino…
Fr Martin Magill said the issue of paramilitary style attacks such as beatings, shootings and assaults are an urgent human need that parties must commit to dealing with. Speaking ahead of the North’s election, Fr Magill warned that if the attacks continue and “if people do not see real improvement, it is inevitable that they…
Easter Sunday is the most important day of the year. Pope St Paul VI said that the resurrection is the unique and sensational event on which the whole of human history turns. It is so central to our Christian belief that St Paul wrote: “If Christ has not been raised then our preaching is useless and your…
Mark Pattison Mark Wahlberg, the Catholic star of the new movie “Father Stu,” has been hitting the interview trail to support the film. He’s got skin in the game, as he’s one of the movie’s producers, financing “Father Stu” largely with his own money. Not that it was his idea to make “Father Stu.” Rather,…
Mindful Living In my article in February I wrote about meditation and marriage and how both contribute to deepening our sense of who we are at the deepest level of our being. Couples are often reminded at the marriage ceremony to view love, not as a noun, but as an action verb; to see love…
Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, visited several cities recently liberated from Russian occupation, including Bucha, where war crimes are believed to have been committed against civilians. On April 7, Archbishop Shevchuk also made stops in Gostomel and Irpin, according to the website for the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. Standing…
Profs Helen Bond and Joan Taylor continue to bring women’s role in the early Church before the public’s eyes, writes Jason Osborne Anyone with any experience of Church-circles will know that the role of women in the Church has been a hot topic of conversation, debate, argument and more in recent years in particular. Two…
Staff reporter Senator Sharon Keogan has warned that a bill seeking to establish safe access zones around abortion facilities bans “peaceful and respectful citizens from praying silently for pre-born children”. The Safe Access to Termination of Pregnancy Services Bill 2021, which would establish “safe access zones” of 100m around premises that provide abortion and contraception…
Ruadhán Jones