School staff from across Derry Diocese assembled last week for an event of faith and learning at the Catholic Schools’ Religious Education Conference, organised by the Derry Diocesan Catechetical Centre. The event gathered over 1,200 educators for a two-day event with the theme ‘Drawing New Maps of Hope’. The keynote speaker was Melodie Wyttenback, Executive…
Archbishop Francis Duffy announced the departure of a Tuam priest due to a “safeguarding nature” at two recent weekend Masses. This comes after the archbishop was made aware of investigations by gardaí and Tusla regarding historical abuse allegations against the parish priest. Galway Live reported that the priest in question has been under investigation by…
I grew up in a household where my mother, a teacher and my father, a civil servant, read The Irish Times cover to cover every single day except Sunday. When I got engaged, it was announced on the pages. My parents are now in their early seventies and part of the dwindling demographic still imbibing…
On most weekday mornings, in cities, towns and rural parishes alike, a familiar scene unfolds at the school gate. Parents gather in small groups, exchanging brief greetings before the day pulls them in different directions. Children weave between conversations, balancing schoolbags and last-minute reminders. In those few unremarkable minutes, people who might otherwise rarely cross…
In twelve months’ time, the once quiet village of Adare on the outskirts of Limerick City will become the centre of the golfing universe. For one week, the world’s eyes will be fixed on Adare Manor as it hosts the 46th Ryder Cup and the tournament’s centenary edition, bringing tens of thousands of visitors and…
Religion is “going through a great transformation”, according to Fr Laurence Freeman OSB, but the question is not simply whether it will survive. The deeper question, he believes, is what kind of religion will emerge. Speaking to The Irish Catholic about the World Community for Christian Meditation’s (WCCM) online series ‘The Future of Religion’, Fr…
These past weeks, I have been struck by the photos of the five teenage boys who died while taking part in a TikTok dare to drive the wrong way up a motorway. While their actions were appalling and wrong, I feel sorry for their families, and, as an uncle of a teenager, for the boys…
In recent weeks, Palestinians in the West Bank have experienced a massive increase in violent attacks by armed Israeli settlers, who are driving them off their land and destroying houses and crops in an effort to displace them and seize their lands. There is clear Israeli government support for these “invasions.” United States Ambassador to…
For the second time during Pope Leo XIV’s pontificate, the Holy Father has been included in a top fashion magazine’s list for “best dressed.” Vanity Fair released its annual Best Dressed list on August 5 and included the pope in “the originals” category. In December 2025, the pope was named one of Vogue magazine’s 55…
With more than 135,000 people reported missing in Mexico, groups of so-called madres buscadoras (Spanish for “searching mothers”) have emerged across the Latin American nation and have become a powerful social movement. A major march is scheduled to take place on August 30 in Hermosillo, the capital and largest city in Mexico’s northwestern Sonora state,…