Dear Editor, The title of Fr Sean Smith’s item in your 26/08/2021 issue was ‘We still speak about keeping the Faith as if it were something, instead of a relationship with someone’. David Quinn’s article in your 14/10/2021 issue is titled ‘The Church has underestimated the reality of evil’ and discusses the report on child…
In brief
Filming of vulgar music video in church forces archbishop to apologise Spanish archbishop Francisco Cerro Chaves has asked for forgiveness after the filming of a music video, which included sensual dance scenes, took place within the church. Archbishop Chaves, of Toledo, was also forced to carry out a penitential act Sunday at the city’s cathedral…
Family News
900-year-old sword found encrusted in shells off Israel A sword believed to have belonged to a crusader who sailed to the Holy Land almost a millennium ago has been recovered from the Mediterranean seabed thanks to a sharp-eyed amateur diver, the Israel Antiquities Authority has said. Though encrusted with marine organisms, the metre-long blade, hilt…
Bishop to send report on ‘hot button’ issues to Rome
Bishop of Killala John Fleming will send a report to the Vatican outlining the views of Catholics in his diocese who want the Church to change on so-called “hot button” issues such as the ordination of women and the inclusion of gay people. Dr Fleming (73) gave the commitment as part of a listening process…
Bishops express both fear and optimism as synodal process begins
Ireland’s Catholic leaders have urged for constructive collective discernment to be used across Ireland’s dioceses as the Church in Ireland commences its two-year Synodal Pathway, which will eventually lead to a National Synodal Assembly in Ireland. Speaking at the launch of a We Are Church online event on the National Synodal Assembly, Bishop Paul Dempsey…
Dialogue with Muslims seen as aid to Christians
A religious sister who has worked in Muslim-Christian dialogue in Nigeria has said that inter-religious dialogue is vital in defeating those who want to use religious differences in a divisive way. Terrorist attack Sr Kathleen McGarvey OLA was responding to a question about a recent terrorist attack in Norway and the murder of Catholic MP…
Prominent Anglican bishop received into Catholic Church
A prominent Anglican bishop, once touted as a potential future Archbishop of Canterbury, has entered into full communion with the Catholic Church. The Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, the former bishop of Rochester, England, has joined the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham. Early reports indicate that Nazir-Ali could be ordained as a Catholic priest as…
Musician and frequent worshipper Paddy Moloney (83) remembered
The founder of The Chieftains and pioneering traditional musician, Paddy Moloney (83), was described as a person who had a profound devotion to St Kevin’s Church and someone who “loved to come to worship frequently with recently deceased parish priest Fr Oliver Crotty,” by Fr Eamonn Crossan, speaking during Mr Maloney’s Requiem Mass. Reflecting on…
Abducted Nigerian seminarians released
The three seminarians who were abducted from their seminary in Nigeria’s Kaduna state have been released, the chancellor of the local Church confirmed. “Barely 48 hours after their kidnap, our beloved brothers were released by their abductors,” Fr Emmanuel Okolo, chancellor of the Diocese of Kafanchan, said in an October 13 statement. Fr Okolo conveyed…
Latest stats show increase in GPs providing abortion
An inquiry to the HSE has revealed that there are currently 402 GPs contracted to provide abortion in the Republic, a rise on last year’s figure. A paper published by the National Women’s Council earlier this year revealed that, as of April 2020, 373 GPs had signed contracts with the HSE to provide abortions, indicating…









