Olivia Elliot The ninth World Meeting of Families, celebrating the joy of being part of God’s family of families, will be opened in Cathedrals throughout Ireland in less than five months’ time. The countdown is underway and the excitement is really tangible. In the Diocese of Waterford and Lismore we are in preparation mode. On…
Modern ideologies distort Church teaching
Dear Editor, Every baptised person has a duty to proclaim the kerygma, the Good News of the Gospel. God Himself commanded us: “Always be prepared to give an answer to anyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that we have, but to do it with gentleness and care” (1 Pet 3:15).…
Vatican Roundup
Clergy urged: spread Good News to ‘new culture’ of youth If Jesus and his truth are to become truly present in today’s world, priests must do what Jesus did and be “street preachers”, going out to encounter and accompany sinners with tenderness and compassion, Pope Francis told the world’s priests. Jesus “could have been a scribe or a doctor of the law, but he…
Pope Francis: We should leave every Mass better than when we went in
Pope Francis has said today that the Eucharist is key to living an authentic Christian witness, and that those who leave Mass unchanged, continuing to gossip or hold onto unholy habits, have missed the point. “While the Mass ends, the commitment for Christian witness opens. We leave the church to go in peace to bring…
Oireachtas committee chair apologises for Easter tweet
An earlier version of this article has been corrected to reflect the fact that the homilist at Knock Shrine was Fr Tom Keane rather than Fr Tom Doherty as referred to in the original article. We apologise for any confusion this error caused. A Fine Gael senator has apologised for offensive remarks she made…
Practical Leadership in Parishes
Episode 8 of The Irish Catholic Podcast brings John Quinn into conversation with Sam Moore of Christian charity Innovista, about creating a practical culture of intentional leadership in Catholic Parishes. The podcast looks at important practical tools for Christian leaders, discerning parish ministries by listening to the gifts of the whole Church community, and what young…
‘Be courageous’ in work for justice like Rev. King – US bishops
Fifty years after Rev. Martin Luther King Jr’s assassination “we need to ask ourselves if we are doing all we can to build the culture of love, respect and peace to which the Gospel calls us,” the U.S. bishops’ Administrative Committee have said. On April 4, 1968, James Earl Ray gunned down the civil rights…
Vatican: Don’t trust report that Pope Francis denied hell’s reality
Hannah Brockhaus On Thursday the Holy See stated that a reported interview between Pope Francis and an Italian journalist, which claims the Pope denied the existence of hell, should not be considered an accurate depiction of Francis’ words, but the author’s own “reconstruction.” A recent meeting between Pope Francis and Italian journalist Eugenio Scalfari,…
Dr Boyce pledges to work for healing in Dromore
The man charged with running the Diocese of Dromore following the resignation of controversial Bishop John McAreavey has pledged to try to bring healing to those who have been hurt. Bishop Philip Boyce was appointed by Pope Francis on Monday to lead the diocese after the Pontiff accepted Dr McAreavey’s resignation. Dr McAreavey had been…
Church has to find new ways to preach ‘unchanging’ teaching on marriage – archbishop
Archbishop Diarmuid Martin has said that the challenge of the Pope’s visit for the World Meeting of Families is to remain open to diverse families while underlining the Church’s unchanging teaching about marriage. Speaking at the annual Chrism Mass in Dublin’s pro-cathedral, Dr Martin said that “families are under enormous challenge” in modern Ireland. He…









