One of Ireland’s first permanent deacons has been appointed to run the new National Vocations Office, which officially opens on July 1. Rev. Eric Cooney, who was ordained to the permanent diaconate for the Archdiocese of Dublin in 2012, will act as administrator of the new office. The office, which will be based in Maynooth’s…
The Catholic Church in Southern Africa will celebrate 200 years of existence for a whole year beginning this month. An inaugural Mass of Thanksgiving will be held in Cape Town’s St Mary’s Cathedral of Our Lady of the Flight into Egypt on June 25, which will begin the celebrations. On June 7, 1818, Pope Pius…
A Catholic nun has been charged with abducting tribal girls for religious conversion in India. Sr Beena Joseph, a member of the Carmelite Sisters of St Teresa congregation, was on her way to the Madhya Pradesh state capital of Bhopal from the eastern state of Jharkhand along with four tribal girls. She was accused of taking…
Bríd Smith The Irish Catholic (June 8, 2017) reports me speaking during Dáil statements on the Mother and Baby Homes on June 1 as saying that the Church should be put in the dustbin. This was taken from the official report of Dáil proceedings as published on the website of the Houses of the Oireachtas.…
Global Rosary Relay for Priests is striving to set a new record of global participation this week. 10 million are estimated to join in prayer for the Rosary Relay this year, according to Worldpriest. As midnight comes on June 23, the Feast of the Sacred Heart, the relay will begin in a new shrine in…
The Dalai Lama will be returning to the city of Derry on September 10, in order to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the charity, Children in Crossfire. The Dalai Lama, a dedicated patron of Children in Crossfire, will be guest of honour at a public talk entitled ‘Compassion in Action’, which will aim to encourage…
Theresa May’s plan to govern with support from the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) may jeopardise a proposed visit by Pope Francis to the North, according to diplomatic sources in Rome. According to Vatican diplomatic sources quoted in the respected Italian daily La Stampa, “cooler heads in the [Vatican] Secretariat of State may be saying this…
There has been a decline in Irish abortion numbers for the 15th consecutive year. According to the official statistics released by the British Department of Health, 3,265 women travelled from Ireland to England to have an abortion. This number stems from a continual drop since 2001 where the number of Irish abortions was 6,673. “Reasons…
Kieran Stafford, newly elected National President of the Society of St Vincent De Paul (SVP), has promised to focus on alleviating the financial and emotional hurdles of struggling local communities. Succeeding Geoff Meagher who held the position for the past five years, Stafford has reconfirmed that the Vincentian ethos will continue to be “committed to…
Remembering those who have died or have suffered injury from accidents on Irish farms will be the focus an ecumenical remembrance service to be held in Co. Laois. Around 120 families have contacted the directors of Embrace Farm, a bereavement support group, for their loved one to be remembered this year. This annual event, which…