Fr Andrew McMahon The opportunity to honour Gay Byrne’s impressive life’s work was exploited to impose a revisionist narrative of 20th Century Ireland, writes Fr Andrew McMahon In a column in the Sunday Press almost 40 years ago author and critic Desmond Fennell spoke of “the Manichaean notion of the Dublin liberals that our society…
The December 3 announcement by the Diocese of Peoria, Illinois, that the Vatican has decided to postpone the beatification of Archbishop Fulton Sheen has led to a grassroots effort to have Masses said all over the world to pray his beatification will go forward. “We decided to respond in the most positive and prayerful way…
The Australian government has decided to revisit its religious discrimination legislation after key religious groups – including the Archdiocese of Sydney – said they would withdraw their support. “We made a commitment to Australians to address this issue at the last election, and we are keeping faith with that commitment in a calm and considered…
Readers of The Irish Catholic are almost evenly split on whether taking sacramental preparation out of schools is a good thing. It comes as the Archdiocese of Dublin confirmed a story in this newspaper last week which first revealed the plan put forward by the Council of Priests. It would see parishes take on a…
Following the death of more than a dozen Christians in a church shooting, a Burkina Faso bishop said Western governments have a responsibility to stop the flow of weapons to militants in the region. “The Western powers should stop those who are committing these crimes, instead of selling them the weapons that they are using…
The hierarchy has announced the appointment of Clogher priest Msgr Joe McGuinness as the body’s new executive secretary. Msgr McGuinness will succeed Dr Gearóid Dullea who has served in the post for a number of years. The executive secretary is responsible for organising how the work of the conference is prepared, arranged and carried out. He…
The superior general of the Jesuit order said that the devil is real, after making headlines in August by stating that Satan is a symbol, not a person. Satan “is the one who stands between God’s plan and his work of salvation accomplished in Christ, because he has made this irreversible and free decision, and…
The Diocese of Cuernavaca has suspended evening Masses due to insecurity in the city and surrounding state of Morelos, a reflection of the violence raging in parts of Mexico and its impact on the Catholic Church. Bishop Ramon Castro Castro of Cuernavaca said church services would not be celebrated after dark because people in the…
Bishop Denis Nulty has called on people across the Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin to ‘Share with the hungry’ as they make their preparations for Christmas and do their Christmas shopping. The bishop was speaking ahead of the annual Reach Out that takes place in parishes across the diocese this coming weekend, December 14-15. For…
Remember the true meaning of Christmas – Pope Ahead of the Vatican Christmas tree lighting, Pope Francis expressed hope that the nativity scene in St Peter’s Square will serve as a reminder of what Christmas is truly about. A nativity scene “is a genuine way of communicating the Gospel, in a world that sometimes seems to be…