Young people told to ‘Open hearts to other cultures’ Pope Francis told young people to always “look to the horizon” and open their hearts to other peoples and cultures. In a video message to the 400,000 participants registered for World Youth Day 2023, the Pope encouraged young people not to “put up walls” that close…
SVP gives thanks for ‘immense’ 250k donations St Vincent de Paul South-West Region thanked the public for the “immense” support shown as over €248,000 was raised from the annual car draw. The SVP have said they are humbled by the generosity of the public during an extremely difficult and challenging period. Regional President Paddy O’Flynn…
The death of Pope Benedict on New Year’s Eve gives rise to many possible consequences for the Church. There were stark differences between the papacy of Pope Benedict and Pope Francis, though both based their foundations very solidly on love – the love of God for his people, and both focused on the need for…
An exhibition in Spain shows a hyper-realistic model of the man who is represented in the Turin Shroud, writes Filipe d’Avillez Few religious items have been more thoroughly analysed than the Shroud of Turin. The burial cloth has been at the centre of intense scientific debate for decades, and with each new discovery and revelation,…
To judge by sensationalist newspaper headlines and breathless social media posts, one might assume that the open conflict in Catholicism unleashed by the death of Pope Benedict XVI and fanned by a series of tell-all revelations from his longtime aide, Archbishop Georg Gänswein, would be the talk of the town in Rome — which, after…
The death of Australian Cardinal George Pell was a shock because just five days earlier he had concelebrated the funeral of Pope Benedict XVI and “seemed in good health,” said Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals. In his homily at Cardinal Pell’s funeral Mass January 14 in St Peter’s Basilica, Cardinal…
One of the great products of the Second Vatican Council has been a renewed understanding of the common priesthood of the baptised. We are all called to exercise our baptismal priesthood through participation, “each according to his own vocation, in Christ’s mission as priest, prophet, and king”, the Catechism tells us. By virtue of this…
A Co. Cavan-based priest from Nigeria has described how the brutal murder of his friend and fellow missionary in his homeland has left him devastated. The body of Fr Isaac Achi was found among the charred ruins of the parish building of Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church on January 15, according to the Diocese…
Parents have called for moral teachings and spirituality to be added to the RSE curriculum, a report on the proposed draft curriculum shows. More than 4,000 parents wrote to the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) as part of a consultation on reforming the Junior Certificate relationship and sexual education (RSE) curriculum. An updated…
A leading priest-psychologist has called on priests not to neglect the spiritual side of wellbeing. Fr Pat Collins CM told The Irish Catholic newspaper that most of the people who get in contact with him refer to depression or anxiety as the “number one problem in their life”. “It’s particularly noticeable since Covid kicked in…
Nuala O’Loan
John L. Allen Jr.
Ruadhán Jones