Róise McGagh Prominent Irish priests have expressed deep disquiet at a Government plan to commemorate the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) amidst a growing move for a boycott, including three Government minister. Fr Paddy Byrne parish priest of Abbeyleix in Co. Laois told The Irish Catholic he was “horrified” by the plans to commemorate the RIC…
Róise McGagh Bishop Donal McKeown of Derry has stated that current leading parties in Northern Ireland will miss out on votes in the next election if they fail to come to an agreement and restore the government. “People are more concerned about hospitals than politics,” he said, emphasising the fact that the Northern Irish…
Readers of The Irish Catholic have given an emphatic thumbs down to plans by the Government to commemorate the role of the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) as part of the decade of centenaries. In a Facebook poll, 77% of readers who voted said they thought that such a commemoration is not appropriate. However, 23% of…
The greatest threats to Christianity come not from the right but from the left, writes Dr Tom Finegan A noticeable feature of recent public theological discourse is a readiness to criticise causes of the right. Take two high-profile pronouncements, those of Fr Michael Mullaney and of Anglican Archbishop Michael Jackson. Shortly before Christmas they criticised…
Róise McGagh Fr Ray Kelly made his first appearance on Dancing with the Stars as it aired on RTÉ One on Sunday night. Speaking to The Irish Catholic he said he enjoyed it but felt he might be eliminated in this first round, but it’s up for people to vote. “I’m not a dancer…
Chaldean Catholic Patriarch Louis Sako, responding to a US drone attack in Baghdad that killed Iran’s top general, said “wisdom is required to avoid the ‘volcanic eruption’ we are about to face.” Speaking during the Epiphany Mass in Baghdad, he said the current crisis resulted from the “upsetting escalation, as well as the emotional and…
Our politicians should exhibit more grace to one another and also receive grace from the rest of us, writes Fr Martin Magill Grace is perhaps one of the greatest of God’s gifts. It is truly “amazing” as exemplified in John Newton’s famous hymn ‘Amazing Grace’, so loved in all Christian traditions and beyond. Grace is the…
The Vatican has dramatically over-ruled a British bishop’s decision to close a parish church. Bishop Peter Brignall had originally told parishioners in Conwy, north Wales that he was forced to close the church due to a shortage of priests to minister in the Diocese of Wrexham. The last Mass was celebrated at St Michael and…
There’s fatigue heading into 2020 in the US, but also cause for a bit of optimism, writes Christopher White One year ago, the US bishops gathered at Chicago’s Mundelein Seminary for a historic retreat initiated by Pope Francis in response to the latest round of the clergy abuse scandals. Some months earlier, the leadership…
Bishop Fintan Monahan is to become one of the first Irish bishops to lead a group to Medjugorje. It comes after the Vatican changed rules which had banned bishops from leading groups before this point, though they were free to visit the Marian shrine in a private capacity. Bishop Monahan will serve as spiritual director…