The White House issued a proclamation honouring the 850th anniversary of the martyrdom of St Thomas Becket and inviting “the people of the United States to observe the day in schools and churches and customary places of meeting with appropriate ceremonies.” The proclamation, signed by President Donald Trump December 28, described Becket as “a statesman,…
Fr Reginald Foster, a friar of the Discalced Carmelite Order, passed away on Christmas day at the age of 81. Originally from Milwaukee in the US state of Wisconsin, Fr Reginald spent almost 40 years as one of the Vatican’s foremost experts in the Latin language. He worked in the Latin Letters section of the…
Carol Glatz Even though the baptisms the Pope celebrates most years in the Sistine Chapel are better known, the most important place to be baptised in Rome for the past nearly 1,600 years has been the baptistery of St John Lateran. Baptistery The ancient baptistery was built in 440 AD just behind the Basilica…
The Vatican’s coronavirus commission and the Pontifical Academy for Life issued a joint statement calling for a coordinated international effort to ensure the equitable distribution of Covid-19 vaccines worldwide. The document highlights the “critical role of vaccines to defeat the pandemic, not just for individual personal health but to protect the health of all,” the…
In a wide-ranging interview, the head of the German bishops’ conference called for far-reaching changes to the Catholic Church and criticised the Vatican’s treatment of the Church in his country. “I would describe myself as conservative because I love this Church and enjoy devoting my life and my strength to it. But I want it…
Figures published by the Department of Housing show the number of people who were homeless in November fell by 253 to 8,484 – compared to 8,737 in the previous month. There was also a drop in the number of children who are homeless to 2,452 – a fall of 190. With the country re-entering Level…
Séamus Dooley When the novelist Benedict Kiely died in February 2007 Msgr Tom Stack, who had received his remains at the Church of the Sacred Heart, wrote an incisive tribute in the Donnybrook parish bulletin. Benedict Kiley, he wrote, “was above all else, a storyteller. The need we all have to hear the ‘story’ was fulfilled…
Less than two weeks after Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz of Minsk was allowed to return to Belarus after a four-month exile, the Vatican announced that Pope Francis had accepted the archbishop’s resignation on his 75th birthday. In a statement January 3, the Holy See Press Office said that the Pope had accepted the archbishop’s resignation in…
Fr Silvester O’Flynn OFM Cap The baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan marks the beginning of the public ministry of Jesus. He came out of the years of hidden life. There was no need for Jesus, being without sin, to participate in the ceremonial washing that John the Baptist offered people. But by submitting…
The Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly TD, has announced a strategic multi-year plan to expand adult critical care capacity from 255 beds to 446 beds. Work on the plan has already begun and will see 321 adult critical care beds in place by the end of 2021, compared to 255 at the start of this…