The chief Paris prosecutor and the French capital’s archbishop have struck an agreement allowing faster investigations into alleged sexual abuse by clergy. Last Thursday’s accord came as more people in France are coming forward about past sexual wrongdoing by priests, and after repeated scandals pushed the French Catholic Church to step up efforts to address…
Modern-day palliative care approaches and hospices have made it such that uncontrolled symptoms at the time of death are rare, writes Chris Garrett Caesar Augustus died peacefully at the age of 75 in the arms of his third wife Livia; unusual for that time given the bloody and traumatic deaths of some other Roman…
A German nun known as ‘Pakistan’s Mother Teresa’ has been honoured by Google with a ‘Google Doodle’ on what would have been her 90th birthday. Sr Ruth Pfau, who died in 2017, is credited with eradicating leprosy from Pakistan. Born in Leipzig in 1929, she converted to Catholicism in her 20s and was inspired to…
Beard Theology: A holy history of hairy faces, told by the Church Mouse illustrated by Dave Walker (Hodder & Stoughton, £12.99) We now live (at least in some Western countries) in an age of beards, if the five day stubble so many sport can be called beards. These unshaven faces are derided by others as mere…
With a month to go before the start of the Synod of Bishops for Amazon, retired Bishop Erwin Krautler of Xingu said the Brazilian government should not fear the discussions to be held in Rome. “The synod is for and by the bishops. Discussions will involve Church issues, not sovereign state issues,” Bishop Krautler said…
Drum roll for Drumlin county While Monaghan is often overlooked as an Irish holiday destination, the Drumlin county is worth exploring especially with the Taste of Monaghan event approaching on September 28. This year, the festival, which celebrates local food, arts and culture, will be free to visitors and will have the largest collection of…
Long-time Vatican official dies age 96 Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, a long-time Vatican official and papal envoy who was sent to some of the world’s most wounded and challenging places, died in France on September 4. He was 96. The French cardinal also played key roles in ecumenical relations, including with the late Orthodox Patriarch Alexy…
School resource launched to help homeless children A charity and teachers organisation have produced a new resource for primary school teachers and principals supporting students and families who are homeless or at risk, it was announced this week. Focus Ireland and the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) produced the document which aims to highlight the…
Hungarian Church to set up abuse prevention system Hungary’s Catholic Church says those anyone “proven” to have abused minors has “no place in the priesthood”. In a statement released last Thursday, the Hungarian Catholic Bishops’ Conference said the country’s Church is setting up a permanent system for reporting mistreatment or sexual abuse by people in…
Green Fingers October is usually the time of year that our temperature changes from warm to cooler, if not frost. This in turn signals a change in the look of most gardens, from full-on bursting with foliage and flowers to slimmed down or bare boned, even somewhat skeletal. Don’t be too tidy: leave the big…