A prominent Dublin priest has defended having congratulated the ‘Yes’ side for having run a successful campaign in the abortion referendum, saying “people don’t listen to sore losers”. Speaking at the Kennedy Summer School earlier this month, Ballyfermot’s Fr Joe McDonald complimented Deirdre Duffy of the Together for Yes referendum campaign for the campaign’s “wonderful…
A Church of England (CofE) archbishop has been accused of hypocrisy after criticising Amazon’s tax practices, despite the church being one of its largest investors. In a homily last week the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, attacked the company for paying “almost nothing in taxes” and “leaching off the taxpayer”. Archbishop Welby also described zero-hour…
Elise Harris While many in conservative camps of the Church feared sweeping changes to the structure and function of the Synod of Bishops following the tumultuous 2014-2015 gatherings on the family, Pope Francis largely upheld the current process. Critics who have been frustrated at the current process, however, might also be disappointed that no…
A 350-page document leaked to German media documents nearly 3,700 cases of alleged sexual abuse of minors by Catholic priests, deacons and clergy in Germany over a 68-year period. The release of the document caused shock in Germany, with many criticising the German bishops’ conference for its detailed knowledge of the abuse and their silence…
Kindling the Flame: 150 years of the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation by Niamh Puirséil (Gill, €24.99) Daire Keogh Media reports of the planned retirement of Sheila Nunan as general secretary of the Irish National Teachers Organisation have naturally focussed both on her personal achievement, as first female leader of her union, and the enduring influence…
Christians in the US have taken the Trump administration to task for a dramatic drop in the numbers of persecuted Christian and other refugees being admitted into the country, even though administration officials promised last year to help. While administration officials vowed on several occasions to help Christians in the Middle East facing what Vice…
Defending Hope: Dispatches from the Front Lines in Palestine and Israel by Eoin Murray and James Mehigan (Veritas, €16.99) Geoff Day ‘Hope is not the solution, nor the end goal: it is just the beginning’ writes Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Mairead Maguire in her introduction to this important book of essays from those at the front…
St Michael’s Diocesan Trust has welcomed the resolution of a disagreement about the siting of a memorial to the 1987 Enniskillen bombing. Twelve people were killed and 68 others were injured in the Rememberance Day bombing by the IRA in the Co. Fermanagh town. A memorial was unveiled at an event marking 30 years since…
Personal Profile Life is often filled with twists and turns, writes Matthew Carlson A person’s life very rarely moves in a straight path and Diocesan Youth Director Dermot Kelly, is no exception to this wise aphorism. From working in Disney to exploring the importance of pilgrimage, Dermot’s story is a prime example of how God…
Food tingles in Dingle For food lovers and connoisseurs, the Dingle Food Festival which takes place annually on the first weekend of October will be right up your street. The festival in Kerry is organised by local people and businesses on a non-profit basis and has quickly become one of the highlights of the culinary…