Nigeria president urged to step down amidst unrelenting violence

Nigeria’s bishops have condemned repeated killings of innocent Nigerians by suspected ethnic militias in northeastern Nigeria and said President Muhammadu Buhari should resign if he can’t keep the country safe. The bishops condemned the murder of two priests and their parishioners during the celebration of Mass, at St Ignatius Catholic Church in Ayer Mbalom. Attackers…

Tynan celebrates rededication of St Joseph’s Church

The Parish of Tynan and Middletown gathered on Sunday, April 8 to celebrate the rededication of St Joseph’s Church, Tynan after six months of renovations. St Joseph’s, affectionately known as Tynan Chapel, was built on the hill of Mullaghard (from the Irish mullach ard meaning high summit) in 1813 and is one of the oldest pre-Catholic Emancipation churches in the Armagh Archdiocese.…

The tragedies of tragedy in Ireland

The Adoption Machine by Paul Jude Redmond – foreword by Clare Daly TD – (Merrion Press, €16.99). Finola
 Kennedy   The sub-title of The Adoption Machine is ‘The Dark History of Ireland’s Mother and Baby Homes and the inside story of how Tuam 800 became a global scandal’. The book also contains the author’s personal history.…

Ireland and the making of modern America

Lincoln and the Irish: The Untold Story of How the Irish Helped Abraham Lincoln Save the Union by Niall O’Dowd (Skyhorse Publishing, €20.67/$24.99) Peter 
Hegarty   Niall O’Dowd  has an original take on the American Civil War: without the 150,000 Irish soldiers who served in the his armies, Lincoln’s Union would have lost. The Irish-American publisher emphasises…

Stop swiping and texting – just talk!

Fr Vincent Sherlock The Notebook   I got a message recently, one of those funny messages we so freely share with one another. It was a picture of two people looking at their smartphones and the caption ran: “I’m having a few people over to stare at their phones later if you want to come…

Committed to values of Catholic social teaching

Dear Editor, Following your reports in recent weeks in relation to the forthcoming referendum on the Eighth Amendment we wish to make clear the position of the Society of St Vincent de Paul as an organisation. As on previous occasions, where there have been referenda or elections, the Society of St Vincent de Paul will…

Family News and Events

Magic in the forest Kids love nothing more than a day out where they can dress up and have fun with their friends and family. For the tenth year running, fairies and elves of all ages are being summoned to Rathwood in Tullow for a magical day out to remember. During this whimsical May 19-20…

Vatican roundup

Vatican
 watchdog
 reports
 ongoing 
progress
 in
 oversight The Vatican’s financial watchdog agency has reported continued progress in oversight, reporting and cooperation in its efforts to prevent suspected money laundering and the financing of terrorism. In its annual report for 2017, the Financial Intelligence Authority (AIF) confirmed a “robust reporting system and an effective application of the regulatory framework of the Holy…