The Westminster government has been criticised for seeking to give Britain’s secretary of state for the region new powers to compel Stormont to implement abortion laws over the head of locally-elected politicians. Aontú has described the push as an “attack on self-determination”. Speaking of the unprecedented decision, Derry Aontú representative Gemma Brolly said: “For 200…
It is hard to think of a country where the plight of persecuted Christians is highlighted so starkly as in Iraq. The decision by Pope Francis to travel to the Middle Eastern country was extremely brave. In the months leading up to the Papal visit there were a string of security alerts in Iraq. In…
Chai Brady and Ruadhán Jones The Church cannot shy away from controversial questions about the disconnect with young people and the role of women as it prepares for a national synod, bishops have told The Irish Catholic. Following their spring meeting, the hierarchy announced that it will work towards a national synod in the next…
The $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act heading to President Joe Biden’s desk for his signature will provide relief to Americans in need amid the pandemic, but it lacks “protections for the unborn”, the US bishops said. Their March 10 statement quickly followed US House passage of the measure in a 220-211 vote. Biden was…
Global hunger has reached an alarming level and could grow worse as the Covid-19 pandemic stretches on, said Catholic Relief Services last week. The organisation issued a new analysis identifying food crises in 14 countries, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Somalia, Yemen, Venezuela, and Zimbabwe. “In addition to the tremendous health and economic…
The Catholic bishops hit out at Taoiseach Micheál Martin for not responding to a request to permit Mass for Easter almost four weeks after a meeting to discuss the vital issue. In their strongest intervention on public worship, the Church leaders insisted last week that ongoing restrictions banning people attending Mass would be “unjust” as…
A religious sister in northern Burma knelt before police last Monday, begging them not to use violent force against protestors. In a video, Sr Ann Rose Nu Tawng, a member of the Sisters of St Francis Xavier, can be seen speaking March 8 to two kneeling police officers in the city of Myitkyina, the capital…
A religious sister and registered nurse who served those sick with Covid-19 in Italy has been honoured by the US State Department with the “Women of Courage” Award. Sr Alicia Vacas Moro is a Comboni Missionary Sister originally from Spain who has served the poor and the sick as a nurse in Egypt, the West…
The former president of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, thanked Pope Francis for his solidarity last Wednesday, after his prison sentences were annulled. Mr Lula was serving a 12-year sentence for corruption and money laundering. “I want to thank Pope Francis (@Pontifex_pt) that when I was in prison he made a point of sending…
The upswing: How we came together a century ago and how we can do it again by Robert D. Putman with Shalyn Romney Garrett (The Swift Press, £25.00) Frank Litton This is a book for anyone who is interested in the history of the United States of America. Covering the last 125 years, from the ‘Gilded…