Jem Sullivan The sacred events of Holy Week beg the question: Why did Jesus, the Son of God, have to suffer a cruel, unjust death on a cross? Was Jesus’ suffering the only means by which humanity could be reconciled to friendship with God? Jesus was obedient to the point of death, even death on…
Fr John Harris OP Now that all the partying is over and the ‘Paddy’s’ day celebrations are litter, maybe we as Catholics can look more soberly at our patron saint and see what he has to say to us in our present situation. In this the second decade of the 21st Century of the Christian…
Q: If our Orthodox brothers and sisters have a valid celebration of the Eucharist, can the same be said of the Polish National Catholic Church (PNCC)? Given your logic about the Orthodox churches a few weeks ago, it would seem to me that the PNCC also has apostolic succession, given that the founder of the…
Responding to Leo Varadkar’s announcement that he is to resign as Taoiseach, Pro Life Campaign spokesperson Eilís Mulroy said: “In his resignation speech, Mr Varadkar referenced his pride in having been the Taoiseach who campaigned for the removal of Ireland’s Eighth Amendment, which ushered in the current abortion legislation and has been responsible for Ireland’s…
Ludwig Ring-Eifel (KNA) For the second time, members of the German Bishops’ Conference and several Curia cardinals will meet in Rome on Friday for difficult theological and canon law discussions. The topics will once again be the reform proposals of the German Synodal Path, which met in Frankfurt from 2020 to 2023. The first meeting…
Hong Kong (CBA) International religious experts believe that the announced Hong Kong National Security Law jeopardises religious freedom. In particular, the law threatens the confidentiality of confession, according to a statement by 16 experts and organisations on the website of the organisation Hong Kong Watch. “The new law could force a priest to disclose what…
Rotenburg-Lispenhausen/Cologne (KNA) A priest from the diocese of Fulda sees his decision to offer a church for sale in a classified advert as a necessary but “brutal” step. Profanation would be “very, very painful”, said priest Andreas Schweimer, dean of Eschwege-Bad Hersfeld, in an interview with the Cologne portal domradio.de (Thursday). He has placed a…
Oliver Hinz (KNA) Archbishop Tadeusz Wojda (67) of Gdansk is the new President of the Polish Bishops’ Conference. At their plenary meeting in Warsaw on Thursday, the 90 or so bishops with voting rights elected Wojda as the successor to Archbishop Stanislaw Gadecki (74), according to a spokesperson. According to the statutes, the previous chairman…
An Irish senator has called on Government to pay the amount spent on the referendum to carer/disability charities, as they have been “cavalier with public monies”. Senator Rónán Mullen, one of the few politicians who campaigned for a No/No vote in the referendum, said the Government should “come under pressure” to direct €20 million to those…
Commitments between family and parish can cause “a battle in one’s heart” for married priests, the Bishop of Waterford and Lismore said, warning against the “quick fix solution”. Bishop Phonsie Cullinan, who is Chairman for the Council for Vocations of the bishops’ conference, spoke to The Irish Catholic in Knock, Co. Mayo at an event…
Chai Brady