Sr Josephine Garrett CSFN New Year’s celebrations can be a mixed experience. On one hand, the holidays have brought us opportunities to be renewed in our relationships with family and friends. On the other hand, secular media can present this sort of ‘new year, new you’ approach that may not really jive with our actual experiences. Catholics must stand…
Staff Reporter The Irish Times newspaper has reportedly refused to publish letters from campaigners highlighting abuse in non-Catholic institutions in Ireland, it has been claimed. While the newspaper published a short note on the death of Derek Linster – a former resident of the Protestant-run Bethany Home – it did not mention that he had…
The Church is at the forefront of efforts to serve a struggling people in one of the world’s newest countries, writes James Bradshaw It was recently announced that Pope Francis will be visiting South Sudan in early February as part of an ‘ecumenical pilgrimage of peace’. When he arrives in South Sudan in the company…
JANUARY The New Year started grimly, as 22 Catholic church workers were murdered in 2021, according to Fides, the Vatican’s missionary news agency. Some 13 priests, one religious brother, two religious sisters and six laypeople were killed in the course of their ministry in situations of extreme poverty, war or civil tensions. One of Ireland’s…
Chai Brady and Ruadhán Jones Thousands of pilgrims have flocked to Bethlehem to visit the birthplace of Christ to celebrate Christmas for the first time post-Covid after pandemic restrictions meant the holy city was enveloped in silence during the normally festive period. Pilgrims have travelled from all over the world to venerate the spot where…
The Catholic population in the United States has grown by about two million people in 10 years. With nearly 62 million people, it continues to constitute the largest religious body in 36 US states, according to the latest religion-focused survey of America’s religious congregations. Over the last decade, many Catholics, the survey found, have moved…
Canadian Church reflects on Pope’s ‘pilgrimage of penance’ The Canadian bishops have released a reflection on Pope Francis “words of healing and reconciliation” during his ‘penitential pilgrimage’ to Canada last July. The Canadian Conference of Catholic bishops’ message marking the National Day of Prayer in Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples, celebrated in Canada on December 12…
The Biden administration may not force Catholic organisations and medical professionals to perform gender-transition surgeries or provide insurance coverage for them, the US Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has said in a recent ruling that cited religious freedom grounds. “The federal government has no business forcing doctors to violate their consciences or perform controversial procedures…
Even the greatest believer goes through the tunnel of doubt John the Baptist, hearing of Jesus’ works, is seized with doubt as to whether he is really the Messiah or not. In fact, he imagined a stern Messiah who would come and do justice with power by chastising sinners. Now, on the contrary, Jesus has…
France’s Catholic bishops have set up what they believe to be the world’s first major national church court, replacing a previous network of local tribunals, although sexual abuse cases involving children will still be referred to the Vatican. “As a community of believers, the Church has developed a comprehensive legal system, which includes the right…