National Evangelisation Teams (NET) Ministries Ireland will supply the highest number of missionaries ever to work in local parishes and schools around Ireland. The 40 young people were all commissioned by Bishop Alan McGuckian. Nine are from Ireland, 15 are from America, 11 from Canada, four from the UK and one is from Australia. Conor…
RTÉ are currently looking for people to take part in a Christmas themed programme that asks ‘what does Christmas mean to you?’ People are invited to express what brings the meaning and wonder to Christmas for them whether it’s presents, food or family. “Or is it about giving rather than receiving, and celebrating the coming of…
The tallest statue of the Virgin Mary in the world is set to be built on an island in Central America. At 47 metres high the statue is expected to cost 80 million pesos, just over €3.57 million, and will be built on San Simón hill in a marginalised area of Guadalupe. The project began…
Amongst the many events to fall victim to storm Ophelia was the much-anticipated launch of Martin Luther: The Challenge Then and Now. The book, by Glenstal monk Fintan Lyons OSB, was due to be launched on Monday evening. It has now been re-scheduled for this coming Monday, October 23 at Newman’s University Church, St Stephen’s…
An Post’s new stamp commemorating the centenary of the apparitions of Our Lady at Fatima is based on a statue owned by Archbishop Eamon Martin of Armagh, and was designed by a permanent deacon of the Archdiocese. Rev. Martin Barlow, a husband and father of two who was ordained to the permanent diaconate in December…
Finding God in the Waves: How I Lost my Faith and Found it Again Through Science by Mike McHargue (Hodder & Stoughton, £9.99) Christopher Moriarty An intense reading of the entire Bible, following a deeply traumatic incident in his life, led the Southern Baptist author Mike McHargue to a spell of atheism which lasted for two years.…
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…