The Diocese of Rouen, France will mark the fourth anniversary of the murder of Fr Jacques Hamel with a Mass and procession at the local church on Sunday. Archbishop Dominique Lebrun of Rouen and Archbishop Eric de Moulins-Beaufort of Reims, president of the French bishops’ conference, will be present, according to local media. French Minister…
An Irish charity has given pilgrims the opportunity to take part in a virtual Camino to help raise money to assist those suffering from homelessness. Focus Ireland launched their virtual walk due to the coronavirus pandemic. The charity said online: “This year due to Covid-19, we may not be able to go on our annual…
Historic manuscripts get a modern Vatican treatment A revamped website for the Vatican Apostolic Library brings modern technology to the study of historic manuscripts. “We are the Pope’s librarians because the library is his and has been open by his desire for many centuries,” Msgr Cesare Pasini, library prefect, told Vatican News. “So, we want to be…
Living Laudato Si’ I went to get my bike serviced last week and was told there was a four-week waiting list for bike services, four weeks! While that would usually put me in bad humour, it didn’t. I smiled. “Isn’t that fantastic?” I thought to myself. Covid-19 has put a lot of things into perspective for…
Don’t be bored, stand up and paddle It’s not every day that the majority of people get the opportunity to take part in stand-up paddle boarding. In one-hour sessions, participants will learn paddle boarding skills, enjoy a trip down the canal in Vicarstown, Co. Laois. Instructors will take participants through some basic skills. There are…
Dear Editor, A headline in your newspaper [IC 09/07/2020] ‘New Government could ‘kick Churches out of education’ warns Senator’ saddened me deeply. I was educated in a Catholic school many years ago (too many years) and am proud of being a Catholic. It was free education for which I am very grateful. During the 1950s…
After lockdown, Italy’s bishops seek new ways to engage parishioners Italy’s bishops will need to help their communities participate more in parish life and return to taking part in the sacraments in ways that continue to respect evolving measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus, according to their conference leadership. When Masses were once…
The Vatican has insisted that bishops must consult with parishioners when decisions are made about reorganisation of parishes. Rome also warned this week that a lack of priestly vocations or financial pressure in a diocese is not a good enough reason for a bishop to close parishes or sell churches. It comes as many dioceses…
Jason Osborne The head of religious programming at the national broadcaster has said he has been moved by the many people who have written to thank the station for broadcasting daily Mass while churches were closed due to Covid-19. Speaking to The Irish Catholic, Roger Childs, the Commissioning Editor of Religious Programmes at RTÉ, said:…
Almost 60% of nursing homes inspected by HIQA after having outbreaks of Covid-19 may have had more severe outbreaks than they should have had because of weak governance and management. In a report on the impact of the virus on nursing homes published on Tuesday, HIQA said half of the facilities which had cases weren’t…