Dear Editor, It is baffling to read of plans by Germany’s bishops to debate the issue of clerical celibacy as a response to the abuse crisis, while Munich’s Cardinal Marx is calling for Church teaching to be reconsidered in light of the crisis (IC 10/1/2017). Granted, there may well be a case for changing the…
It seems like IC readers are tight-lipped when it comes to spreading rumours or hearsay, given that most believe that gossip is wrong. On the newspaper’s Facebook page, online users were asked: Pope Francis has denounced gossip as a “form of terrorism”. Is he right, or is gossip just a bit of harmless fun so…
Primate announces new clergy appointments Archbishop Eamon Martin has announced some new clerical appointments for the Archdiocese of Armagh which are due to take effect next month. Fr Jim Carroll of St Peter’s in Drogheda and Administrator of Monasterboice will step down from his duties in Drogheda while remaining as Administrator in Monasterboice and pastor emeritus and priest-in-residence in…
The Notebook Fr Bernard Healy Tidying up isn’t my favourite activity! I had to do a lot of it this summer when I moved from a parish assignment back to student life. Even so, I’m surprised that the latest reality show hit Tidying Up With Marie Kondo caught my attention. Now, I’ve seen…
Fun to the Xtreme A travelling fun park will be touring Ireland soon with attractions from family rides to ‘white knuckle’ rides. Xtreme Funfair will be making an appearance around the country from March 2, with the first event being held in Swords, Pavilions Shopping Centre Co. Dublin from March 2-19. It will be open…
EXCLUSIVE The Primate of All-Ireland has urged Irish Catholics to raise their voices on the abuse scandals ahead of an unprecedented Church summit in Rome next month. Archbishop Eamon Martin, in a letter to The Irish Catholic this week, has called on Catholics in the pews to pray, reflect and offer feedback on a…
The sad truth is that a very large chunk of the blame for the collapse of Catholic Ireland must be placed squarely at the doorstep of the Church, writes David Thunder When a third of the population poured into the Phoenix Park on September 29, 1979 to celebrate Mass with Pope John Paul II,…
Church officials have confirmed that Cardinal Donald Wuerl, retired archbishop of Washington, had forwarded an allegation of sexual misconduct against his predecessor, former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, to the papal nuncio in Washington in 2004. In a January 10 statement, the Archdiocese of Washington said Cardinal Wuerl, who at the time was bishop of Pittsburgh, “received…
Embodying what it means to be a role model, Tyrone woman Kate Grant has shaken headlines this week after being unveiled as an ambassador for a cosmetics giant. Hailing from Cookstown, Kate (20) who has Down syndrome, has modelled for other companies and was even crowned champion in the Teen Ultimate of the World pageant,…
More than 100 homes – including a church-run home for disabled war veterans – were forcibly demolished earlier this month by state officials in southern Vietnam. People living in the dwellings, most of whom are Catholic, said they were given little or no warning about the demolitions in Loc Hu’ng near Ho Chi Minh City.…