Chai Brady and Hannah Harn Missionary sisters in Ireland have said they are “very concerned” about members of their religious order in Mozambique after a cyclone devastated the country. The death toll of the natural disaster has risen to over 750 in three countries in the south of Africa. In Mozambique the fatalities are believed to be about…
A Venezuelan cardinal has called on state security forces to exercise civil disobedience when given orders to use lethal force against citizens. “State security agencies exist not to take care of the government but to take care of the citizens,” said Cardinal Baltazar Porras, at a press conference last week. “Therefore, every order that is…
Inés San Martín During a visit to the Italian city of Loreto on Monday past, Pope Francis signed a new document dedicated to youth and called on people to remember the importance of the family for society. According to tradition, the Nazareth home of the Holy Family was transported to the city of Loreto in the…
The former religious affairs correspondent at RTÉ has told how Bishop Eamonn Casey tried to put pressure on him in the 1980s by urging other bishops not to talk to him. Kieron Wood – who was religious affairs correspondent for the national broadcaster from 1987-1990 – told The Irish Catholic this week that Dr Casey…
A Franciscan science teacher from rural Kenya who donates most of his salary to help poorer students has been crowned the world’s best teacher. Beating 10,000 nominations from 179 countries Peter Tabichi (36) was awarded $1 million (€886,185). The maths and physics teacher at Keriko secondary school in Pwani Village won the Varkey Foundation Global…
The broadcasting regulator has rejected multiple complaints that programmes broadcast leading up to last year’s referendum on the removal of the Eighth Amendment failed to be fair, objective and impartial. Two of the complaints to the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) were made against The Tonight Show, hosted by Matt Cooper and Ivan Yates, and…
More than half of US Catholics say they are very concerned about the persecution of Christians around the world, with this 58% figure up by 17% from a similar poll a year ago. When asked to rank their concerns about global issues, respondents considered persecution of Christians as a slightly more important problem than climate…
Mindful Living Dr Noel Keating Meditation brings considerable practical benefits to those who take up the practice and persist with it. But it also gives rise to deeper, spiritual fruits – it promotes human flourishing and an attitude of compassion and service to one another and to all of creation. The practical benefits of…
More than 1,000 people marched to “save” a Donegal hospital over the weekend, with a local priest saying “we were on fire”. The march on March 23 was the second organised after plans were announced in 2016 to build a new 130 bed centre in Letterkenny. Fr John Joe Duffy, Chairperson of the Save our…
The Border: The legacy of a century of Anglo-Irish politics by Diarmaid Ferriter (Profile Books, €15.99 / £12.99) Felix M. Larkin On the very first page of this book, Prof. Ferriter speaks of the Border being “imposed” on the island of Ireland – by implication, against the will of the people of the island. This reflects what…