A Nigerian bishop in Liverpool has said the Catholic Church in his country is beginning to lose its public influence because of the decline of religious Faith in the West. Bishop Matthew Kukah of Sokoto accused European and American politicians and diplomats of publicly “pandering” to Islam at the expense of Christianity. The result, he…
The president of the Sri Lanka Catholic Bishops’ Conference has called on local media not to attack Church leaders over their anti-abortion stance. Bishop Winston Fernando said that media freedom does not constitute a right to target religious leaders who condemned a government decision to allow abortion in a broader range of circumstances. “We can’t…
Martin Mansergh Few statues are not offensive to somebody. Fellow adviser, writer Anthony Cronin, once suggested that the statue of Fr Mathew should be removed from O’Connell Street, as it was offensive to drinkers. Fr Mathew warned the Irish poor against consumption of strong spirits, or they might soon find themselves before the bar of…
Catholic schools in the US are accepting students and enrolment inquiries from Puerto Rican families displaced to Florida after the devastating impact of Hurricane Maria. An informal survey conducted in early October by the Miami Archdiocesan Office of Catholic Schools indicated that some 50 students from Puerto Rico had already been placed in Catholic elementary…
Pope Francis has announced there will be a special assembly of the Synod of Bishops in October next year on the state of evangelisation in the Pan-Amazon region of South America, with special attention paid to indigenous people. The purpose of the assembly will be to “identify new paths for the evangelisation” of people in…
Pope Francis has given his approval for an extraordinary ‘month of mission’ in 2019 to reinvigorate and renew the missionary spirit and action of the Church. October 2019 was chosen for the month of prayer because it will be the 100th anniversary of Pope Benedict XV’s 1919 apostolic letter, Maximum Illud on the propagation of…
Loss of reverence part of Church decline Dear Editor, I note in Fr Joe McDonald’s interview (IC 05/10/2017) that he doesn’t hazard a guess as to why he thinks time is running out on the Church in Ireland. There is, however, one interesting passage in the article with which I agree wholeheartedly: “Instead of asking…
Each of us has a divine spark that can fuel our own happiness and brighten the lives of those around us, writes Martina Lehane Sheehan Research in positive psychology suggests that while around 50% of our happiness levels are influenced by genetic components, only 10% are attributable to external circumstances, despite the huge amount…
Splashtastic events for little swimmers The first-ever National Baby Swimming Week organised by Water Babies will run from next Monday, October 31. The goal is to encouraging mums and dads across Ireland to take their little ones to their nearest swimming pool or swimming class for some fun family time, while gaining a host of…
“The Budget isn’t on the scale required to tackle the crisis that ordinary Irish people are experiencing in their lives day by day” – Fr Sean Healy, Social Justice Ireland.