John Lavenburg In response to the Supreme Court overturning Roe vs Wade, Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore stated his appreciation but kept an eye towards the future and the need to redouble Church efforts supporting women and couples who face unexpected pregnancies, as well as opening the hearts and minds of those with a different perspective. “My…
A victim of sexual abuse is reported to be suing retired Pope Benedict XVI in connection with the Munich abuse scandal. The German Catholic news agency KNA reported the victim has accused Pope Benedict – who, as Joseph Ratzinger served as archbishop of Munich and Freising from 1977 to 1982 – of having “responsibly approved”…
Brenda Drumm The World Meeting of Families 2022 (WMOF2022) concluded last weekend in Rome with a mission offered to all families by Pope Francis to: “Proclaim the beauty of being family with joy! Proclaim the grace of Christian marriage to children and young people.” The WMOF2022 was different from previous World Meetings as it was…
Catholic priests from dioceses across Vietnam will compete in the first-ever national football championship to promote the spirit of synodality, reported ucanews.com. The National Synodal Cup 2022-23 will be in July and October to coincide with the 15th National Congress of Vietnamese bishops, which is organising the event. The tournament is designed to foster fraternity…
The Catholic Church professes marriage and family life to be a path to holiness – a daunting concept – but one that can start with a tiny step, Pope Francis said. “Start from where you are, and, from there, try to journey together: together as couples, together in your families, together with other families, together…
Dear Editor, Below is an extensive quote from an article in The Irish Catholic, June 16, 2022 [‘Clear call’ for married priests from Irish synod participants]: “The value that underlines the desire is a ‘belief that a married clergy dealing daily with family issues, would be in a better position to understand and deal with…
Liam Fitzpatrick When Fr Richard O’Riordan launched his memoir Roots in Exile, his family raced to support him. He shared that the book would launch in Athlone, and his cousins booked their tickets. Only, Fr O’Riordan didn’t mean Athlone, Co. Westmeath, Ireland – he meant Athlone, Cape Town, South Africa. “So…they had to change their…
There will be challenging change ahead for Cork and Ross, Bishop Fintan Gavin has warned, as 14 priests are set to retire this summer. Of the 14, 12 are diocesan priests, while two are priests in religious orders who served in the diocese and won’t be replaced. Bishop Gavin said he is having to make…
First married couple beatified together feature at World Meeting of Families Relics of the first married couple to be beatified together by the Catholic Church were venerated inside St Peter’s Basilica during the World Meeting of Families in Rome. Blessed Luigi and Maria Beltrame Quattrocchi were the official patrons of the 10th World Meeting of…
Responding to Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien’s comments about “underutilised” Church-owned land when it comes to housing, housing campaigner Fr Peter McVerry said that the State has more than enough land to build a lot of houses and “it seems to me there’s no urgency about doing that”. Speaking to The Irish Catholic newspaper, Fr…