Church leaders have offered their condolences upon the death of theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, who although did not believe in God, fostered a fruitful dialogue between science and faith. The British-born scientist who died today at the age of 76 was an esteemed member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. The academy, which Pope Pius…
Speaking on the topic of the Lord’s prayer, Pope Francis has said that forgiving those who have caused pain or offense is not easy. At his weekly general audience today, the Pontiff said that ability to forgive is “grace that we have to ask for”, because the peace offered by Christ cannot take root in…
Episode 5 brings John Quinn into conversation with Anne McGrath and Robert Poynton at Marley Grange Parish in Dublin to discuss their ecumenical bible study, which has been meeting each week over the past decade. Their chat looks at the importance and value of ecumenism, the joys and challenges of reading God’s word on a…
Mary McAleese, the former President of Ireland, is slated to be the keynote speaker at the ‘5 Years to Save the Irish Church‘ conference being held on Saturday, the 19th of May at the Gresham Hotel in Dublin The conference is being organised by Columba Press, the stellar publishing house that actively strives to keep up…
“It has been the best day of my life.” This is the verdict of a twenty-year-old third level student – no, not at the end of a day of retreat, but in a quiet moment at the end of a day spent working at the construction of a humble little home for a needy Indian…
Government pensions plan is a missed opportunity Campaigners have called for the introduction of a universal pension in Ireland, in response to the failure of the Government’s new pensions plan to address “major issues around equity, sustainability and bureaucracy”. A Universal State Social Welfare Pension, published by Social Justice Ireland analyses Ireland’s pension system and…
Pope Francis’ exhortation on the family should prompt discussion and even debate, but accusing him and others of heresy is completely out of place, said German Cardinal Walter Kasper. “A heresy is a tenacious disagreement with formal dogma. The doctrine of the indissolubility of marriage has not been called into question on Pope Francis’ part,”…
Ahead of his ordination as the new Bishop of Ossory, Msgr Dermot Farrell has acknowledged that many people have lost trust in institutions but that he hopes “we will not be just be people who proclaim the Word, but people who do it”. In a pastoral message issued on Sunday the bishop-elect told parishioners that…
Linguistic acrobatics used to deny baby’s humanity – bishop The bishop of Kilmore has given a pastoral message defending the Eighth Amendment, maintaining that the question of abortion is not primarily a religious issue, but an “ethical” and “human rights issue”. Bishop Leo O’Reilly issued the statement on March 6, saying that a compassionate response…
WMOF Sharon Dunne In preparation for the World Meeting of Families 2018, the Archdiocese of Armagh formed a Core Group in November 2016 after the national launch in October of that year. The purpose of the Core Group was twofold. First of all, to gather people from across the Archdiocese of Armagh, north and…