Pope Francis has formally recognised a miracle attributed to the intercession of Blessed Carlo Acutis, a 15-year-old Italian teenager whose birth in 1991 will make him the first ‘millennial’ to become a saint. In a meeting on May 23 with Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Dicastery for Saints’ Causes, the Pope signed decrees advancing…
There is a need to “restore” goodwill towards refugees while considering “the needs of everyone living in local communities”, according to the head of the Church of Ireland, Archbishop John McDowell. In a joint St Patrick’s Day statement two years ago, Archbishop John McDowell and Archbishop Eamon Martin called for parishes to support Ukrainian refugees…
Tony O’Reilly, who died at the weekend, did a lot for Ireland, quite beyond inventing the “Kerrygold” butter brand, although that is a noteworthy success. It was also about rebranding Ireland itself, as a country where people could thrive. In his unstinting work for the Ireland Funds, he advanced the Peace Process and worked consistently to…
Church robberies have been a feature of news emerging from multiple parish offices across the country recently. From Kerry to Donegal, thieves have targeted churches in order to seize money that may be present in the candle boxes. While robberies have been taking place across churches throughout the country, Donegal has been the target for…
In early May Pope Francis addressed the reality of birth rates decreasing in Italy and urged Italians to have more children. “It is important to work together to promote natality with realism, foresight, and courage” Pope Francis said, introducing the topic of tumbling birth-rates in Europe to his audience. “Birth rates” he said, “are the…
Former MEP and 1970 Eurovision winner Dana has been awarded the Order of St Gregory by Pope Francis in recognition of her services to the Church. Dana became a Dame of the Order of St Gregory at a ceremony at her parish church in Claregalway, Co. Galway, surrounded by family and friends. She thanked Bishop Michael Duignan, Bishop of…
It is not that long since divorce was not permitted in Ireland at all. The State followed the view of the Catholic Church that marriage should be permanent and indissoluble. This was a country with an overwhelmingly Catholic population, and so when a referendum to make divorce legal was first put to the country in…
A returned missionary priest who doesn’t qualify for a state pension is to speak with his religious order, the Society of African Missions (SMA) to find out why apparently no stamps were paid on his behalf while he was a missionary in Ghana for 31 years, which he claims was a paid employment where he…
If a woman has not had her first child by the time she is 30, statistically, she has only a 50% chance of ever having a baby. It’s a shocking fact that we can no longer ignore. We find ourselves in a space where couples experience involuntary childlessness, i.e. those who always wanted children but…
There is a real prospect of pro-life gains in the upcoming elections, writes Eilís Mulroy Before voters go to the polls in Irish elections, the Pro Life Campaign has, for many years now, published a ‘Voter Guide’ with a comprehensive list of candidates and where they stand on right-to-life issues. As well as being an…
Chai Brady
Mary Kenny
Renata Milán Morales
David Quinn
Wendy Grace
Eilis Mulroy