A Broad Church: the Provisional IRA in the Republic of Ireland, 1969-1980 Gearóid Ó Faoleán (Merrion Press, €19.95 / £16.99) Felix M. Larkin The controversial – and, for some, uncomfortable – argument of this book is that, to quote from it, “there was a sizable though ultimately immeasurable [sic] body of tolerance, if not support, for militant…
The Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All-Ireland will say this Sunday that the Lord has not stopped calling people for the priesthood, but he can be difficult to hear among “so many competing voices”. In his pastoral message on Vocations Sunday Archbishop Eamon Martin is “keen” to encourage the priesthood for Irish youth. The…
The Australian Catholic Church is continuing on its ground-breaking path toward a potential dramatic overhaul with the announcement that a panel of experts will thoroughly review the governance and management structures of Catholic dioceses and parishes. Such a review was a key recommendation of Australia’s landmark Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse,…
A candidate running in the Irish local elections has said he will represent Catholic voters and those striving to improve their community. Paul Uzo, who is originally from Nigeria and is now running as an Independent candidate in Dublin’s Swords told The Irish Catholic he wants to “work as a bridge between the disaffected youth…
Personal Profile Hannah Harn Fr Aidan Troy, born in Co. Wicklow, became known globally as a true symbol of courage during the Holy Cross protests in Belfast in 2001. He has been living in Paris since 2008, based at the English-speaking St Joseph’s Church. “When I finished secondary school, I decided to try my vocation…
The apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Mogadishu, Somalia, has called on the world to “pay attention to the plight of Somali people” as they face critical food shortages because of a crippling drought. Bishop Giorgio Bertin of Djibouti, who also serves Mogadishu, said Somalis living outside the country’s central and southern agricultural regions are…
Catholic Relief Services is appealing for additional aid after Cyclone Kenneth struck northern Mozambique late last month, the second such storm to hit the country in recent months. “Entire villages have been flattened. Roads have been washed out. And bridges have been destroyed,” Erica Dahl-Bredine, CRS’ country representative of Lesotho and Mozambique, said on April…
Rock star Bruce Springsteen and filmmaking behemoth Martin Scorsese have discussed the importance of the Catholic Faith in forming their art. In a wide-ranging conversation over the weekend in Los Angeles the two discussed their Catholic upbringings, with Springsteen saying “all my work was informed by my years in Catholic school”. “All that redemption, damnation,…
Home visit isn’t on the cards for Francis, bishops reveal Pope Francis told a group of Argentine bishops on pilgrimage in Rome that although he wants to visit his homeland, current obligations impede him from fulfilling his wish, the bishops said. The Pope met with the first of two groups of bishops from Argentina’s coastal and northeastern regions on May 2 during the ad…
A poster campaign showing an unborn child at 11 weeks is intended to remind people that regardless of the law, unborn human beings are still human beings. Almost a year after the referendum that repealed Ireland’s constitutional protections for the unborn, the Iona Institute’s ‘Still One of Us’ campaign is based on a similar campaign…