Increasing severity in the persecution of Christians in different parts of the world is reaching “genocidal” levels, according to a new report commissioned by the British government. An interim report issued by an Independent Review set up at the request of the UK foreign secretary said that Christians are overwhelmingly the most targeted religious group…
Who should I vote for?
The PLC can help Catholics find and support pro-life candidates, writes Eilís Mulroy All of the main political parties and indeed all of those at the national political level pay detailed and close attention to the local elections. The reason they do so is because they provide a significant window of opportunity in which…
Francis prays for victims of Burkina Faso attack
Pope Francis is praying for the victims of the recent attack on a Catholic church in Burkina Faso, the interim head of the Holy See press office has said. “The Holy Father learned with sorrow the news of the attack on the church in Dablo, in #BurkinaFaso. He prays for the victims, for their families…
‘Doubts’ still remain about women deacons in early Church – Pope
The commission Pope Francis appointed to study the history and identity of women deacons did not reach a unanimous conclusion about whether deaconesses in the early church were “ordained” or formally “blessed”, the Pope has said. “What is fundamental is that there was no certainty that there was an ordination with the same form and…
Dominican Rosary priest goes to final reward
Ireland’s very own ‘Rosary priest’ has died, aged 97. Fr Gabriel Harty OP, the senior member of Ireland’s Dominican province, passed away on Thursday in Drogheda’s Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital. Known as ‘the Rosary Priest of Ireland’, Fr Harty was known for his decades of promoting the Rosary through preaching, missions and publication of…
‘Cold hand of euthanasia’ terrorises Canada, cardinal warns
Pro-life campaigners from across Canada gathered on Ottawa’s Parliament Hill last week for the country’s annual National March for Life. Carrying a variety of handmade and pre-printed signs in a variety of languages, pro-life advocates, school groups, families, and clergy turned out to mark the 50th year of legal abortion in the country. Police declined…
Plan your summer fun
Hannah Harn discusses summer holiday options for kids of all ages Now that young people are at the cusp of surviving another school year, they’ll have three months off to relax and recharge before kicking back into gear in autumn. However, nobody wants to run out of things to do after a week, and…
Holding onto hope when times look hopeless
Fr Tony Coote describes how he was first diagnosed with motor neurone disease I woke in my house in Mount Merrion, Dublin around 6.30am. I hadn’t had much sleep. I had an appointment that morning in the Beacon hospital. I went to the window; the whole area was covered in snow. Normally on a Wednesday…
Transforming division and bridging fractures
Personal Profile Hannah Harn Though Rev. Alex Wimberly, the newly appointed leader of Corrymeela in the North of Ireland, is originally from the United States, he is no stranger to Ireland. A fourth-generation Presbyterian minister, married with three children to Rev. Kiran Young Wimberly, a fellow minister, Rev. Alex worked in Belfast as minister of…
Ebola outbreak claims more than 1,000 lives
The Ebola outbreak that began last August in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has now claimed more than 1,000 lives, the nation’s health ministry has confirmed. Efforts to contain the disease have been hampered by misinformation and distrust on the part of local communities, who in some cases have retaliated against health teams by…










