Dear Editor, Perhaps the most interesting aspect of your interview with Archbishop Eamon Martin this week (IC 20/6/2019) was not his comments on the country’s smallest dioceses, or even his openness to a national synod in a few years, but his barely veiled suggestion that the Archdiocese of Dublin be dismantled to make the Church…
The Notebook Fr Vincent Shelock “There were people of all ages, gathered ‘round the gable wall”, so begins Dana’s wonderful hymn telling the story of the Knock Apparition of August 1879. It’s a lovely image of Church – people of all ages, gathered, content to be with one another and respectful. I often think…
Christians must respond to migration crisis humanely – Pope The Vatican recognises how difficult it is for nations to manage the flow of migrants and refugees, but one thing is certain: “We must respond in a humane manner, a Christian manner, and we must try to help people, not harm them,” said the Vatican foreign…
US Cardinal Raymond Burke has resigned from the Dignitatis Humanae Institute, saying it has become “more and more identified with the political program” of Steve Bannon. In a letter posted on his Twitter feed, Cardinal Burke said yesterday (June 25) he had urged the institute to return to its original purpose of promoting the respect…
Pope Francis said today that there is no room for selfishness in the Christian life, pointing to the example of the lives of the early Christians in the Acts of the Apostles. “The community of believers banishes individualism in favour of sharing and solidarity. There is no place for selfishness if you are a Christian,”…
Letter from Rome Inés San Martín When the bishops from the Amazon region gather in Rome next October, they will discuss the ordination of “elderly people”, preferably indigenous, to guarantee that the remote communities in the region have access to the sacraments. “Affirming that celibacy is a gift for the Church, it is requested…
As massive protests continued in Hong Kong, the auxiliary bishop pledged to remain with those opposing a controversial extradition bill and the resignation of the Chinese territory’s leader. Although chief executive Carrie Lam announced on June 15 that she had suspended the bill, Hong Kong people were not satisfied and turned out in even greater…
Aontú TD Peadar Tóibín has said the family at the centre of the Holles Street abortion case feel they’re not being “treated fairly” and that the government is ignoring the issue. After speaking to Taoiseach Leo Varadkar under Dáil privilege last week concerning a couple who opted for an abortion at the National Maternity Hospital…
The bishops have rejected claims that Catholic schools do not teach about facts in Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) classes. In their latest quarterly statement, the hierarchy responded to criticisms of the way RSE is taught in their schools. Health Minister, Simon Harris, said in a recent Tweet that RSE “must always be based on…
The US bishops have voted to revise what the US Church teaches its adult members about the death penalty in a passage on the issue in the US Catechism for Adults. The full body of bishops approved the revised passage by a vote of 194 to 8 with three abstentions. It now will need the…