At least four people have now died after an explosion destroyed a parish building in the Spanish capital, Madrid, with a gas leak cited as a possible cause. The victims included a recently ordained Catholic priest who died in hospital early Thursday morning. Fr Rubén Pérez Ayala was ordained to the priesthood last June. His…
John Lavenburg Hope Border Institute executive director Dylan Corbett sees first-hand the hardship thousands of people face in Ciudad Juárez – the Mexican city opposite the border to El Paso, Texas – while they wait in limbo to pursue their asylum cases and hopefully enter the United States. Resources “It does not have the infrastructure…
Homeless people receive Covid-19 vaccine in the Vatican Pope Francis is working to ensure that poor people who are assisted by Holy See facilities for the homeless be offered the possibility of being vaccinated against Covid-19. A statement released on Wednesday by the Holy See Press Office said that 25 homeless persons were inoculated with…
Nigerian priest abducted for ransom found dead The body of Fr John Gbakaan, a Catholic parish priest in Nigeria, was found dead with machete wounds on January 16, a day after armed men kidnapped him and demanded ransom. Fr Gbakaan, the parish priest of the Saint Anthony Church in Gulu in Minna diocese, was kidnapped…
Biden returns US to Paris climate accord Joe Biden has reinstated the US to the Paris climate agreement mere hours after being sworn in as president. The US president is pursuing this amid a number of executive orders aimed at tackling climate change, with the issue being one of the Biden Administration’s top priorities. President…
The Sunday Gospel Fr Silvester O’Flynn OFM Cap. Last Sunday we had the dream of Jesus as he launched his mission to establish the kingdom or reign of God on earth. “The time has come and the kingdom of God is close at hand. Repent and believe the Good News.” This meant repossessing the world…
Dear Editor, Victims of the mother and baby homes deserve every apology and compensation. Most of these ladies were young and innocent, many of them were sexual victims of employers and others known to them. Their treatment was cruel and inhumane. We need to place the blame where it belongs. Firstly, they were abandoned by…
The silence had long needed to be shattered – Archbishop-elect Farrell Archbishop-elect of Dublin, Dermot Farrell echoed the other bishops of Ireland by welcoming the report, describing it as making for “extremely disturbing reading”. “They reveal deep wounds, and bring to light the profound injustices perpetrated against the vulnerable in our society over a long…
A Donegal priest has called on people to stop attending wakes, funerals and burials as the Covid-19 guidance is “not sinking in”. Tremendous comfort Fr John Joe Duffy CC of Dunfanaghy/Creeslough parish said that although going to wakes, funeral Masses and burials is a “tremendous comfort”, it is dangerous. “Despite public health pleas, the message…
Australia’s financial crime watchdog agency said it over-estimated by the equivalent of more than €1.24 billion the amount of money transferred from the Vatican to Australia between 2014 and 2020. According to The Australian, a daily newspaper, “A computer coding error is believed to be the source of the miscalculation”, with financial transfers involving Italy…