Pro-life leaders in Texas responded to a federal judge blocking Texas’ pro-life “heartbeat” law, just more than one month after the law went into effect. In a ruling on Wednesday, October 6, Judge Robert Pitman of the Western District of Texas ceased enforcement of the law by the state. The Texas Heartbeat Act limits most…
“Behold, I am doing a new thing- Isaiah 43:19” was the theme chosen for the opening Mass in Loreto College Swords on September 16. In former years the whole school community walked to the parish church, St Finian’s River Valley, to celebrate the occasion but due to Covid restrictions only sixth and first year students…
The European Anti-Poverty Network (EAPN) has called on the Government to commit to benchmarking social welfare rates against the cost of living. Welcoming this week’s budget, the group said that welfare increases still fall further behind the cost of living. Some of the main points of the budget are: – A €5 increase to all…
Access to pornography should be addressed at primary school level according to a High Court judge after sentencing a teenager for the rape of his niece on Monday. It was discovered he had been acting out pornographic scenes he had been watching since he was nine years old. He was given a five-year suspended sentence.…
Congresswoman and Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, left Mass at a church in Rome Saturday evening. Her sudden departure was spurred by protesters criticising the introduction of a Covid ‘green pass’ in the city, according to journalist Joan Lewis. The representative of California had travelled to the Vatican with her husband…
The German Catholic Church’s “Synodal Way” will be extended to 2023 after its plenary session ended abruptly following votes in favour of a text approving same-sex blessings and a discussion of whether the priesthood is necessary. Bishop Georg Bätzing, chairman of the German bishops’ conference, and Thomas Sternberg, president of the lay Central Committee of…
The president of the French bishops’ conference has accepted a request to discuss his recent comments about the confessional seal with the country’s interior minister. According to an October 7 Bishops’ Statement, Archbishop Eric de Moulins-Beaufort will be meeting with interior minister Gérald Darmanin to discuss the meaning of the Sacrament of Confession for Catholics…
The president of Poland’s Catholic bishops’ conference called for humanitarian aid for migrants seeking to enter the country from neighbouring Belarus. Archbishop Stanislaw Gadecki made the appeal on October 4 amid tensions between Poland and Belarus over an inordinate rise in migrants seeking to cross the border. Influenced by the recently celebrated 107th World Day of…
Gerard Gallagher By the time we get to October many of our conversations cite how tired we are of the routines of life. Some people look forward to mid-term. Others just want to survive till the Bank Holiday. As we all begin to reconnect with the new normal in a life with less restrictions, it…
Pope Francis appeals for countries to achieve net zero carbon emissions Pope Francis and various religious leaders from across the world appealed last Monday for countries to “achieve net zero carbon emissions as soon as possible”. The plea was made on October 4 in a joint message signed in the Vatican’s Hall of Benediction. The…