Nearly every US bishop responding to a survey said the coronavirus pandemic has seriously affected the celebration of the sacraments and rites and sacramental preparation programmes in their dioceses. Confirmations, first Communions, the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults and other sacramental preparation were the ministries most often cited by the bishops as being affected,…
We rightly mourn the deaths of over 1,700 people from Covid-19 but the loss of more than 7,000 little ones from abortion passes almost without comment As a Church, it’s the very least we can do in response to the deafening silence from the media and the majority of politicians who have largely ignored the…
Staff at the Pope John XXIII hospital in Bergamo – once the epicentre of the Covid-19 pandemic in Italy – have announced that they have no more patients with coronavirus in their intensive care unit. After 137 days of trying to keep critically ill patients alive, staff gathered for a moment of silence to remember…
Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin Denis Nulty has announced a range of fresh diocesan appointments Fr Ruairí Ó’Domhnaill Adm. cathedral to become PP Newbridge in succession to Fr Paul Dempsey, Bishop-elect of Achonry. Fr Liam Morgan PP Naas, Sallins, Two Mile House to become VF north deanery, retaining responsibility for parish renewal and development. Fr…
Ballina Remembered by Aubrey Malone (Lapwing Publications, Belfast, €9.99; ISBN 978-1-9163457-1-3; copies can be ordered direct from the publisher marymannion@hotmail.com) Noel Monahan Here we have a collection of memory poems to take you back in time to Ballina, Co. Mayo. It’s about memory and images from the past, a view from the inside with the…
Venezuela’s bishops say they can’t stand by while the government of President Nicolas Maduro strengthens its “dictatorial line” and the country’s people suffer hunger and unemployment, feeling “more unprotected” every day. “We live immersed in general chaos at all levels of social and personal life,” the bishops wrote in a statement at the end of…
Five people have been killed after attackers stormed a South African church, reportedly amid an argument over its leadership. South African police said they had rescued men, women and children from a ‘hostage situation’ on the outskirts of Johannesburg on Saturday morning. They have also arrested at least 40 people, and seized dozens of weapons.…
Letter from Rome As museums and historical sites in Italy slowly begin opening their doors after several months of lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, technology may prove to be the ‘Renaissance’ the country’s tourism industry desperately needs. Recently, countries within the European Union have opened their borders following months of lockdowns and restrictions. However,…
Matt Talbot’s devotion to the Eucharist allowed him to make an offering of his entire life writes Fr Hugh O’Donnell SDB As the centenary of the death of the Venerable Matt Talbot approaches (2025), maybe it’s time to recall one of Dublin’s acknowledged – though somewhat neglected – holy people. When too narrowly represented as…
Personal Profile Jason Osborne It was perhaps more than a little symbolic that Fr Michael Toomey should be ordained on June 14 in 2009, the feast of Corpus Christi. It makes sense that a man who would do so much to bring communities together should enter his ministry on the day celebrating the oneness of…