The Easter season is a call to awareness of the early days of the Church and to be Church in our day. There are countless and powerful stories around healings in the name of Jesus. Difficult stories too, about persecution of those who preached the word and ended up in prison, faced rejection or were…
The visit of US President Joe Biden is an opportunity to highlight how Government policy has led to “wrecked families” in rural parishes, according to a Mayo priest. Fr Kieran Holmes in Ballina parish spoke to The Irish Catholic ahead of President Biden’s visit to St Muredach’s Cathedral on April 14, where baptismal records of…
Independent TD for Laois-Offaly Carol Nolan has asked the Minister for Education for a review of all SPHE recommended reading lists to ensure that the material being recommended to children is age-appropriate. Deputy Nolan said she saw a “significant increase” in the number of parents contacting her about the inappropriate content of books on recommended…
Plans by Government to introduce a free hot meal in primary schools to all children is not a good use of money, according to the director of Social Justice Ireland Fr Sean Healy SMA. Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphrey made the announcement after publishing an independent evaluation of the School Meals Programme – which…
Easter hope is hard to see for survivors of an earthquake that left 50,000 dead and around 1.5 million homeless in Syria and Turkey two months ago, an Irish missionary based in Aleppo has said. Christians in the Syrian city celebrated the Easter triduum amid the ruins of homes destroyed by the earthquake and 12…
The murder of a Romanian woman in prostitution in Limerick is a reminder that the sex trade is “inherently violent, dangerous and harmful”, Irish charity Ruhama has said. Their statement comes after Geila Ibram, a 27-year-old woman from Romania, was found dead at a residence in Limerick on Tuesday, April 4. Habib Shamel, an Afghan…
Russell Crowe, star of recently-released The Pope’s Exorcist that was partly filmed in Ireland, said he thinks Ireland still has “a deep affection” for the Church. “When we were shooting, for sure, we were aware of being respectful of people’s beliefs,” the Hollywood star said in an interview coinciding with the film’s release over the…
Catholics must promote the common good over guns, a Maynooth professor has said, after five people were killed and eight injured in a shooting in bank in Kentucky in the US. “Excessive individualism” regarding rights to bear arms is “out of sync” with Catholic anthropology, Tobias Winright, a professor of moral theology at St Patrick’s…
Faith-based education is needed in the North to promote forgiveness, justice and compassion, a Belfast-born nun and principal has said. Her comments come as politicians and activists push for integrated – secular, State run – education in the North, calling faith-based schools “segregated” and accusing them of fostering division between Protestants and Catholics. However, Sr…
The Pope: Answers is one of Disney’s newest documentaries, and sees Pope Francis explain that the Church cannot allow itself to become merely “a club of nice people”. Released on April 5 and directed by Spanish filmmaker Jordi Évole, the one hour and 23 minute-long documentary shares a conversation between Pope Francis and 10 young…
Chai Brady
Ruadhán Jones