Donations to the annual Peter’s Pence collection, which supports the work of the Roman Curia and funds the charitable activity of the Pope, held steady in 2021, but the total still was significantly lower than in 2018, the Vatican said. Peter’s Pence donations and income from investments totalled €46.9 million in 2021, while the expenses…
Thomas Morrissey SJ The Rise and Fall of Christian Ireland by Crawford Gribben (Oxford University Press, £25.00/€29.00) The author has produced a readable and impressive work of scholarship and organisation, which endeavours to trace the rise and fall of religion in Ireland from 8,000BC to the present day. The advent and progress of Christianity is presented…
Liam Fitzpatrick Personal Profile 50 years ago, the world was a radically different place. U2 hadn’t been formed yet, push-button phones revolutionised communication, and Star Wars wouldn’t come out for another five years. There has been one constant, however – Fr Jerry McSweeney’s priesthood. Navigating his own relationship with God and living through a time…
The words “Jane’s Revenge” have been a calling card in recent incidents of vandalism of pro-life pregnancy centres across the country, but now the name has popped up again at the bottom of a new “communique” that was released threatening “open season” on pro-life clinics. The White House has condemned the threat June 15, according to…
Dear Editor, So the Church needs to change with regard to its obvious discrimination towards LGBT people? This charge is levelled against the Church without any specificity about the nature of this discrimination. So is this charge of a ‘homophobic’ Church justified? Is it not Church teaching that the homosexual person should be accepted with…
Cardinal-designate calls liturgical tensions a ‘tragedy’ Cardinal-designate Arthur Roche, prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, described as a “tragedy” the tensions within the Latin rite of the Catholic Church over the way the Mass is celebrated. In a wide-ranging interview broadcast June 16 by Vatican News, the cardinal-designate said the tensions…
In deciding to embark on a ‘synodal pathway’ for the Irish Catholic Church the Bishops have been inspired by the teaching and practice of Pope Francis. Francis, for his part, has developed the teaching of the Second Vatican Council on collegiality (between the Pope and Bishops) to embrace the wider and deeper notion of synodality,…
Being synodal is being receptive to the cry of all of the faithful, writes Bishop Paul Dempsey. Back in 2011 a new version of the Roman Missal came into existence. We were told it would be an exact translation of the original Latin text and would contribute to the much-needed renewal in the Church. Even…
Maureen Kelly The Church in Ireland entered crisis mode – but the synodal process offers a timely opportunity for reconnection writes Maureen Kelly. The possibilities that the synodal vision of Francis opens up and the profound shift it requires is only gradually coming into view. In effect, he is calling the whole Church, to a…
Three Catholic schools to be given co-ed status Three primary schools in Thurles Co. Tipperary are to become fully co-educational following a review conducted on behalf of the Patron, the Archbishop of the Diocese, Dr Kieran O’Reilly. The change is to come into effect in the 2023/2024 school year. The schools involved are Scoil Ailbhe,…