John Lavenburg Flor Molina crossed the US-Mexico border with her trafficker in 2002. At the time, she was under the impression the trip would last six months, provide housing, and enough money to return to Mexico to open a sewing shop and provide for her three children. Instead, she found herself working 18-plus hours a…
Vatican diplomat criticises ‘divisive’ UN report on Islamophobia A Vatican diplomat has expressed dismay at “the narrow scope” of a United Nations Human Rights Council report into the persecution of people of faith. Addressing the 46th Session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland, March 4, Archbishop Ivan Jurkovič, Permanent Observer to the UN…
The Sunday Gospel Fr Silvester O’Flynn OFM Cap. “When I am lifted up from the earth, I shall draw all people to myself”. Lent is advancing rapidly and we are coming close to the celebration of the death and resurrection of Jesus. When I entered religious life more than 60 years ago, there was great…
Kenyan bishops urge uptake of Covid-19 vaccines Days after a Catholic doctors’ association urged Kenyans to shun Covid-19 vaccines, the country’s bishops have told the citizens to accept the inoculations. The bishops said it was licit and ethically acceptable to receive all the vaccines the government recognised as clinically genuine, safe and effective. They also…
Dear Editor, With the repercussions of the Covid-19 virus and the growing number of destructive antisocial disorders occurring regularly throughout the world it is probably timely for people who feel there is something not right about our society to reconsider and re-evaluate the benefits of religion and participation in church services as a more fulfilling…
China and Russia to build lunar space station China and Russia have announced plans to build a space station on or around the moon, or both. The Russian space agency Roscommos says it has signed an agreement with China’s National Space Administration to develop research facilities on or around (or both) our nearest celestial neighbour.…
Catholic clergy in France perpetrated more than three times as many sexual abuse offenses than previously thought, said the head of a bishops’ commission whose report is due out in September. Jean-Marc Sauvé, 71, a lay Catholic and head of the French Institute of Administrative Sciences, presented new data from the Independent Commission of Sexual…
The Canadian bishops’ conference announced last Thursday that after a review of organisations that receive project funding from their international development agency, it will discontinue 24 partnerships over concerns about compatibility with Church teaching. The Canadian bishops and the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace – Caritas Canada reviewed the CCODP’s international partner organisations…
A Dublin hospital has decided to remove any reference to ‘Saint’ from the names of the wards on their IT systems. Beaumont Hospital confirmed to this paper that the ward names are not being altered and the existing signs will be the same but the names would be changed on their IT systems to avoid…
For better discussions on married priests we would do well to look to the Eastern Rite Christians, writes Peadar Laighleis Debates on married clergy have gone on as long as I can remember. Most people used the Protestant denominations as examples. Few referred to Eastern Churches – Catholic or Orthodox – though Catholic theology of…