Bishop Fleming welcomes Ukrainians to plant 500 trees Bishop of Killala John Fleming welcomed members of the Ukrainian community for the planting of 500 trees to mark the anniversary of Russia’s invasion. Bishop Fleming said he was delighted to welcome them, adding that “their lives have been uprooted and they have put down roots in…
The Spiritual Journey of St Patrick by Aidan J. Larkin SSC, with a foreword by Archbishop Eamon Martin (Messenger Publication, €14.95/£12.95) Tomorrow all the world that is Irish will mark St Patrick’s Day, mostly in ebullient hoolies it has to be said, rather than calm and settled consideration. Well, that is the way of the…
Recently our bishop, Paul Dempsey, wrote a pastoral letter for Lent. He was encouraging the work of parish pastoral councils throughout the diocese. Some weeks earlier, he celebrated Mass in the cathedral in Ballaghaderreen, where parish pastoral councils from around the diocese were commissioned. It was a wonderful occasion with more than 300 people in…
Last Sunday we had the story of Jesus sitting with the woman at the well, offering her the living water of friendship and mercy. It is a story about the grace of Baptism. Today we have a second baptismal story from John’s Gospel, the miracle of sight for the blind. In the early centuries of…
In the face of adversity, our patron saint’s deep trust in God grew even stronger, writes Fr Eamonn Conway St Patrick faced three major challenges in his life. The first was when he was captured as a slave; the other two, when he returned to Ireland as a missionary bishop. Patrick was 15-years-old when he…
The German Synodal Way has voted to adopt “implementation texts” related to same-sex blessings, lay preaching during Mass, and a request for Pope Francis to re-examine the discipline of priestly celibacy in the Latin-rite Catholic Church. The votes took place during the first two days of the fifth synodal assembly in Frankfurt, Germany. The assembly…
What’s that I was hearing about Macho of the Day? Oh wait, it was about Match of the Day on BBC One, and the odd controversy (provisionally resolved by Monday) about who should present it. On Times Radio Breakfast last Saturday morning Hugo Rifkind, on board to plug his own show for later that morning,…
All 26 Irish dioceses have now been awarded or are in the process of finalising Covid-19 insurance claims arising out of a loss of vital weekly donations when parishes were ordered to shut by the Government during the pandemic. The Irish Catholic understands that a number of dioceses, including Ferns, Cork and Ross and Cloyne…
Music legend Nick Cave has opened up about the role faith has had in dealing with grief after the death of his son Arthur (15) in 2015 and then the death of a second son Jethro (31) last year. Regarding his recent book, which is made up of conversations with music journalist Sean O’Hagan, Faith,…
Catholic campaigners and charities have been critical of Government plans to end the ban on evictions at the end of this month. Speaking Monday night on Upfront with Katie Hannon, veteran advocate for the homeless Fr Peter McVerry said he’s increasingly coming to see the Government as being on the side of “the owners of…
Peter Costello
Brendan O’Regan
Ruadhán Jones
Chai Brady