By the time you read this, Heather Humphries or Sean Kelly MEP might well be the Fine Gael candidate for the presidency, but so far it has been a very strange presidential race, such as it has been one at all. There is only one candidate at the time of writing who actually has the…
In January 2025, Mount Melleray Abbey, a Cistercian (or Trappist) monastery nestled at the foot of the Knockmealdown Mountains of Co. Waterford, closed its doors after nearly 200 years. Once home to over 150 monks – a bustling hub of agricultural and spiritual life – the abbey dwindled down to just six monks at the…
The Catholic Church has welcomed many kinds of popes in its long history — reformers, diplomats, visionaries, caretakers. With Pope Leo XIV, history’s first American successor of Peter, the Church appears to have received something rare: a shepherd intent on binding up wounds without tearing at old scars. His first hundred days offer every sign…
Bishop of Limerick Brendan Leahy has strongly condemned recent attacks on members of the Indian community in Ireland, calling them a “dreadful misrepresentation” of the true Irish welcome and the Christian values that should define the nation. Speaking at the Syro-Malabar Community’s annual retreat in Limerick, he praised the Indian community’s deep faith, family values,…
The news that St John Henry Newman is to be declared a Doctor of the Church has been greeted with joy. This has been expected for some time, having been requested by, among others, the Episcopal Conference of England & Wales, the Irish Episcopal Conference and the Bishops of the Church of England. Newman joins…
Harvey’s death shows urgent need for health system accountability, says Peadar Tóibín TD I want to convey my deepest sympathies to the family of Harvey Morrison Sherratt. It’s a disaster for any parent to lose their child. Harvey’s death is particularly heartbreaking given the suffering that he endured in his short life and the lack…
Barrister and columnist Maria Steen has defended the papacy as being a “rock of stability” following criticism of Pope Leo by former President of Ireland Mary McAleese. Ms McAleese said in an article focusing on Pope Leo’s first 100 days as Pope that regarding the issue of women’s equality in the Church, Pope Leo “is…
The hope and dream of the late Pope Francis was to reform the Catholic Church and make it a synodal Church at every level, where everyone — laypeople, priests and bishops — are considered equal before God and Jesus of Nazareth, working together, sharing thoughts, listening and learning from one another, and participating humbly in…
EWTN Global Catholic Network announced it will serve as the exclusive media partner providing news coverage, broadcast, and digital streaming of Pope Leo XIV’s first-ever digital visit with American Catholic youth during the 2025 National Catholic Youth Conference (NCYC) hosted by the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry (NFCYM) on November 21, 2025. The historic…
As the synodal journeys—universal and local—have been undertaken, it is often noted that ‘synodality’ is Vatican II in practice. As Massimo Faggioli puts it, our operating system is the Church’s self-understanding that emerged from the Council’s dialogues and documents. More than sixty years on, pastoral practice and theological reflection continue to inspire and deepen this…
David Quinn
Chai Brady