Catholic guides commissioner sworn in A new national commissioner for the Catholic Guides of Ireland (CGI) was commissioned in the North Cathedral, Cork, October 2. Bishop of Cork and Ross Fintan Gavin commissioned Julie Donnelly at an event attended by the Lord Mayor of Cork, Deirdre Forde, and representatives of Guiding and Scouting organisations from…
A prominent Irish theologian has warned that the legacy of Irish religious could be “betrayed” by the gifting of third-level Catholic institutions to the State. The Vatican must investigate several deals made by the Church in Ireland to hand over Catholic colleges in recent years, Prof. Eamonn Conway told The Irish Catholic. The founder and until…
The Police Service of Northern Ireland is not doing enough to recruit Catholic police officers with outreach to some communities being “non-existent”, the newly formed Catholic Police Guild has warned. Speaking to The Irish Catholic, leading members of the guild said they felt they have been “actively excluded” from recruitment drives. Chief Inspector Graham Dodds…
Archbishop of Dublin Dermot Farrell has promised to “streamline” the administrative burdens on parishes, saying it is “critical” to promote outreach. Building Hope Many of the 76% of parishes who have so far participated in the diocese’s ‘Building Hope’ process warned that high administration responsibilities for priests do “not serve the pastoral life of the…
Struggling schools are turning to their local parish priest to help pay their energy bills, despite hikes in the capitation grant, said TD Michael Collins. Mr Collins criticised Minister for Education Norma Foley’s claim that there was “no reason” for schools to ask for voluntary contributions this year following the rise in capitation grants. “It…
With traditionally Protestant areas particularly affected by the rise in ‘no-religion’ in the 2021 Northern Ireland census, an anthropologist has suggested that it could be the “backlash” of a more liberalised population against Protestant conservative influence. Speaking to The Irish Catholic newspaper, Dr Hugh Turpin of the Oxford School of Anthropology & Museum Ethnography said…
The annual and liturgical calendars are useful roadmaps for directing our attention and efforts in the spiritual life, writes Jason Osborne The slow descent into autumn is well underway in the northern hemisphere, with the darkness creeping a little further at the beginning and end of every day, the cold beginning to seep back in…
The Dominican charism continues to attract men to the order, with recent novices bringing the total number of student brothers in formation to 16. Reporting This comes as the Irish landscape for vocations grows increasingly challenging, with vocations to religious life generally in decline. Speaking to The Irish Catholic newspaper, vocations director for the Dominicans…
An Irish priest based in Florida has told of the devastation caused by Hurricane Ian, with the death toll estimated at around 100 people so far. Fr Murchadh O’Madagain PP of St Vincent de Paul in Fort Myers, is originally from Co. Galway. He told The Irish Catholic that while his parish was fortunate to escape the…
Many aspects of a united Ireland are being currently discussed – and rightly so. What will the impact be on the economy, the health service, education? And how might we salute flags, anthems, and other symbols? And what about the role of faith in a reunited Ireland?” Shall we use kilometres or miles (or a…
Ruadhán Jones
Chai Brady
Mary Kenny