The Irish Catholic spoke to women at St Michael The Archangel parish at the weekend, after a Vatican commission last week ruled out the possibility of ordaining women to the diaconate because it was part of “Holy Orders” reserved for men. The decision was sharply criticised by some high profile Catholic women including former Irish…
More than 800 people gathered at Knock Shrine to mark the centenary of the first Saturday devotion, commemorating the apparition received by Sr Lucia at Fatima on December 10, 1925. Amid escalating global unrest, the gathering focused on the promises of peace made by Our Lady. Guest speaker Antonia Moffat stressed the urgency of the…
Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín TD has warned that Labour’s proposed gender identity legislation would “damage the health and well-being of children”, arguing that public policy must be grounded in science rather than ideology. Deputy Tóibín cautioned that debates around gender have “for far too long… been driven by ideology”, to the detriment of young people…
Relics of Venerable Matt Talbot were recently hosted at the First Friday evening Mass at the Church of All Saints, Ballymena, Co. Antrim, by the Knights of St Columbanus. A First-Class relic, a tip of the Venerable finger, his rosary beads and the chain he was wearing when he collapsed and died, were brought to Ballymena from…
The Cause of Willie Doyle is progressing well and should go to Rome in 2026 the Bishop of Meath has told The Irish Catholic. “The Theological Commission has completed its work, the Historical Commission will be finished within a month and the Tribunal hopes to have finished its work by the end of February. All…
It is hardly a contested statement to suggest that Donald Trump is not a universally-loved President of the United States. Polls carried out in Continental Europe show him to have very low likeability ratings: 77% of the French have an unfavourable view: 79% of the Germans, ditto. In Spain, his unfavourability rate rises to 80%…
Before settling in Ireland, Bro. Esteban Beltran grew up in Guadalajara in a Mexican family which did not practice its Catholic faith. “We used to go to church for funerals and weddings and baptisms,” he said. “We never went every Sunday or for Christmas or for Easter.” He grew into a depressed teenager who did…
Bishop Martin Hayes, Irish Bishops’ Liaison to the Irish Prison Service and to the Northern Ireland Prison Service, asked for prayers to be said at Mass this weekend for prisoners and their families. He said prisoners are vulnerable to mental health difficulties, but prayer and spirituality help them to manage their stress and anxiety. These…
Halfway through Advent, when Christians are invited to look for hope in darkness, The Irish Catholic spoke to Roscommon native Sr Margaret Hosty, who’s been living in Brazil for 40 years and founded an organisation to support people living with HIV/AIDS. Speaking about Christmas celebrations, Sr Hosty recalls her first December 25 in the south…
If sacramental preparation moves out of schools, the first and hardest hit will be those on the margins—the children whose families are already struggling with poverty, instability or fractured relationships with the Church writes Roisín Coll My final class of the semester met this week. It was a room full of soon-to-qualify Catholic primary…
Martina Purdy
Mary Kenny
Renata Steffens