Staff reporter Fr John O’Laverty (30) was ordained to the priesthood for the diocese of Down and Connor in the parish of Bright, Co. Down, on Sunday. Bishop of Down and Connor Noel Treanor, who ordained Fr O’Laverty, said it was a “joyful” day and prayed in his homily that God’s “angelic light” will inspire…
A senator is calling for a full report into the referral of 234 children by the HSE to a British clinic following the NHS’s decision to shut it down. By spring, the Tavistock clinic, named the Gender and Identity Development Service (GIDS), will shut down after it was criticised in an independent review released in…
The US Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit in Chicago said July 28 that a Catholic high school in Indianapolis and the Archdiocese of Indianapolis have a constitutional right to hire staff who will uphold their core religious teachings. The case, Starkey v Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Indianapolis, involves Lynn Starkey, a former guidance…
Anyone with a sense of compassion can feel sympathy for a person with gender dysmorphia – someone who strongly believes that they were ‘born into the wrong body’, and feels driven to change their gender. There are numerous cases in Ireland, north and south, of transgender people who have undergone such a transition. Agree Not…
Staff reporter Bishop Donal McKeown of Derry diocese has said that he believes all information held by the Church in relation to the Claudy bombing in Derry has been handed to authorities. The late Fr James Chesney was said to have been involved in the attack which killed nine civilians and injured 30 when three…
The View During these weeks priests are on the move across Ireland. Some will retire completely, others, will continue to minister as pastors emeritus, some will take responsibility for their first parish, others – young in ministry will move to new parishes – or even, in the very exceptional case to their first parish as curate. It is…
A new study from Queen’s University Belfast shows that being Catholic is one the “main factors” in speaking Irish in the North. The report, which draws on census data from the Northern Ireland Longitudinal Study, shows that 91% of people who were raised Catholic have knowledge of the Irish language. Catholics are four times more…
To improve the lives of Pakistanis, many of whom are desperately poor, the Archdiocese of Lahore has ramped up its educational and vocational training efforts. “We evaluated and studied that – through education and then skill training and some other professional training – that is the only way out of misery,” said Archbishop Sebastian Shaw…
Last week I wrote about the importance of good-decision making, but this week I want to turn to a topic that I feel is of equal importance: making and breaking habits. The habits you hold are likely to influence the decisions you make, but aside from this, they’ll determine the shape of your life outside…
The Primate of All-Ireland has written to the North’s Equality Commission after The Belfast Telegraph refused to publish an advert from the northern bishops without changes to text expressing the Church’s stance on abortion. Archbishop Eamon Martin of the Diocese of Armagh highlighted the implications for faith-based groups and their participation in public life. He…
Chai Brady
Mary Kenny
Nuala O’Loan
Ruadhán Jones