An “avalanche” of baptisms is due in the Traveller community of Dublin archdiocese due to the Baptism ban. Speaking to The Irish Catholic newspaper, Fr Paul O’Driscoll of the Parish of the Travelling People said the large number of coming baptisms is because “Traveller families tend to be larger than general”. As well as this,…
The newly appointed bishop of Hong Kong gave a press conference Tuesday in which he said he believed that prudence and dialogue were a way forward in the challenges facing his diocese. Bishop-elect Stephen Chow Sau-yan told journalists May 18 that he did not think it would be wise to comment on especially controversial issues,…
A court has issued an order against a suspected loyalist agent holding him liable for the unlawful killing of three Catholics in Co. Armagh, according to The Irish News. The judgment has been issued in respect of Mid-Ulster loyalists Alan Oliver, Anthony McNeill and Thomas Harper. Mr Oliver, now a born-again Christian, is a suspected…
The Spanish bishops’ conference expressed concern that migrants were being used to exert political pressure after a sudden influx of migrants in the Spanish territories of Ceuta and Melilla increased tensions between Spain and Morocco. In a statement released May 18, Auxiliary Bishop José Cobo of Madrid, head of the conference’s migration department, and Dominican…
The High Court in Mumbai order prison authorities to take an ailing 84-year-old Jesuit to the hospital, as it heard his appeal to receive bail on medical grounds, Indian media reported. The High Court said Jesuit Fr Stan Swamy must be taken to JJ hospital at noon May 20. Media reports said the court ordered…
Blood of martyrs slain by ISIS ‘a seed that will bear rich fruit’ Pope Francis has said that the blood of 21 martyrs killed by ISIS on a Libyan beach in 2015 is “a seed that will bear rich fruit for Christian unity”. In a May 10 letter to the Coptic Orthodox Patriarch Tawadros II,…
Irish-led research reveals weaknesses in over 700 cancer cells Thousands of ‘Achilles Heels’ or ‘cancer vulnerabilities’ have been found in an analysis of more than 700 different kinds of cancer cell following research led by Queen’s University Belfast (QUB). The discovery could lead to new ways of stopping cancer cells in their tracks using existing…
Judge sets bail of $1.6 million for Italian broker A UK judge has set a bail of $1.6 million for Gianluigi Torzi, the businessman who helped to broker the Vatican’s controversial purchase of a London investment property. Judge Paul Goldspring ordered the broker to put up the sum because he feared that Mr Torzi was…
Dear Editor, Fr Gerry Young makes some interesting points in relation to the Government’s plans to allow gender-neutral toilets in all new or refurbished schools [IC 13/05/2021]. Under Norma Foley’s recent leadership, the Department of Education excluded the two largest parent groups from all consultations and there have been at least two significant developments that…
The Sunday Gospel Fr Silvester O’Flynn OFM Cap. As he was about to ascend to heaven, the Lord Jesus instructed the apostles to go, make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Today we are celebrating the Most Holy Trinity. Four…