The View Martin Mansergh While some Christmas carols emphasise the coldness of the season ‘in the bleak mid-winter’, others emphasise the mildness of the infant Jesus. It is difficult to remember 12 days of Christmas that have been so mild and in most parts mainly dry. The first snowdrops were out even before…
Dublin’s Archbishop Diarmuid Martin has moved to quash rumours that he submitted his resignation to Pope Francis in 2015, five years before he would have been expected to do so. The Irish Times reported last week: “It is said that Archbishop Martin’s letter of resignation was submitted to Rome in 2015 when he reached the…
With planning beginning this month to build a path along the Croagh Patrick pilgrimage to counteract extensive erosion along the trail, a local priest has said it will “enhance” the experience. The Croagh Patrick Stake-holders Group, established in 2015, have already built a 20-metre path in a trial run and have begun an evaluation process…
Letter from Rome Elise Harris With 2019 already off to a running start, Vatican-watchers can expect a packed year of surprises, updates and new twists and turns. The to-do list includes the papal reform agenda, the clerical abuse crisis, international travel and possible new appointments to key dioceses and curial offices. This spring alone will…
Well-known pop singer and actress Kaya Jones has revealed why she is so openly pro-life and said that we need to “expose the truth” about how damaging abortion can be. Writing on Twitter, the former Pussycat Doll said that she is one of many women who feel “ashamed” to speak publicly on this issue but…
The Democratic Republic of Congo’s electoral commission (CENI) has accused the country’s Catholic Church of “preparing an insurrection” after it said it knew who had won the country’s presidential elections and called on the authorities to publish the true results. Fr Donatien Nshole, secretary-general of the DRC’s bishops’ conference (CENCO), said on January 3 that…
Only the Irish political system makes 100% agreement on everything a condition of full membership, writes Larry Donnelly Last month, the Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy Bill was passed by the Dáil by a margin of 90 votes in favour and 15 against. Twelve TDs abstained. The bill has also passed in the Seanad…
In a landmark eight-page letter to US bishops who are on retreat in response to the clergy sexual abuse crisis that has engulfed the American Church, Pope Francis called for a “new ecclesial season” led by bishops who are more than administrators interested in “pointing fingers” and instead, leadership marked by “collegial spiritual fatherhood”, rooted…
Schools are increasingly faced with the challenge of understanding how adversity affects children’s growth, writes Bronagh Starrs Several generations ago, the school environment was a compartmentalised space where children carried their books and a simple lunch to each day – and even maybe a clod or two of turf for the fire. The world…
German Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Munich and Freising has called for change in long-standing Church tradition as the German bishops’ conference prepares for a workshop debate to “review” the issue of celibacy for priests. In his homily at New Year’s Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady in Munich, Cardinal Marx said the Church must,…