A leading Catholic research institute has warned that legalising assisted suicide in England would put an “extra burden” on sick and disabled people. Lord Falconer has attempted to introduce legislation to change the law on assisted suicide for the seventh time through a new Bill, which has been introduced in the House of Lords. The…
Located in Co. Donegal, almost at the border with Tyrone and Fermanagh, St Patrick’s Purgatory, most commonly known as Lough Derg, is the “most hidden Irish Catholic church treasure,” according to James McLoughlin, a member of the Lough Derg team. Last Saturday, The Irish Catholic sent two reporters to discover the wonders of the island’s…
What were we supposed to make of the Olympics opening ceremony last weekend? It very strongly divided opinion, for reasons to be explained. An Olympics is still an exciting event, even it has lost some of its allure and romance because of drug scandals and probably because it has got so big and commercialised as…
English and Scottish bishops have joined the outrage against the Paris Olympics opening ceremony, in which a controversial parody of the Last Supper, featuring drag queens, took place. Bishop of Paisley John Keenan dismissed the event as embodying a “secular Europe” which is currently “disfiguring its Christian roots”. “I was shocked by footage from the…
Kate Quiñones A United Kingdom high court judge upheld the British government’s emergency ban on puberty blockers for minors on Monday, finding the blockers carry “very substantial risks and very narrow benefit”. Advocacy group TransActual challenged the UK’s ban along with a 15-year-old who remains unnamed due to a court order. Justice Beverly Lang cited…
A parish priest in Armagh who gave an online blessing to those attending the All-Ireland final and specifically rearranged Masses to facilitate those travelling to the big match, has said that Armagh’s victory is a “great boost” to the parish community, many of whom have links to their local GAA club. Speaking to The Irish…
The St Vincent de Paul Society (SVP) in England and Wales is calling on the new Labour Government to take urgent action to tackle poverty. The call comes as new statistics show that, at St Vincent’s centre in Newcastle, the need for their services has almost doubled, from supporting 4,968 people last year to a…
Sport is one of those activities that I greatly approve of in theory, but, alas, in practice, find mostly rather boring. I applaud the wonderful principles behind that motto so often advanced in times gone by – notably by the religious orders in education – mens sana in corpore sano: a healthy mind in a…
There was immense joy last Saturday in Ennis Cathedral as Clare-native Monsignor Seamus Horgan was appointed bishop and the first ever Papal Nuncio to South Sudan. The ceremony was attended by a number of fellow priests, parishioners, cardinals, bishops and deacons. Three cardinals concelebrate on the day. Principal Consecrator of the Mass was Vatican Secretary…
Over 500 grandparents and elderly from across Ireland, along with multi-generational families, gathered at the Shrine of Our Lady of Knock to celebrate the Catholic Grandparents Association National Grandparents Pilgrimage and World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly. The pilgrimage, which takes place on the fourth Sunday of July every year, was attended by Chief…
Renata Steffens
David Quinn
Brandon Scott
Mary Kenny