Staff Reporter Rumours that Pope Francis might retire have been fuelled by an announcement that he will be attending a feast initiated by a 13th Century pope who himself resigned. Speculation that the 85-year-old might follow in the footsteps of his predecessor Benedict XVI and step down from his post was prompted in early May when he…
CSO stats show almost half of births outside marriage The latest figures from the CSO revealed 41.5% of births in the fourth quarter of 2021 were outside marriage. The figures showed there were 16,250 births in the fourth quarter of 2021, with 9,512 (58.5%) of those registered as being within marriage or civil partnership. There…
Staff reporter This year’s MSC Novena to the Sacred Heart is set to celebrate the theme of ‘Jesus – The Compassion and Mercy of God’ and will be led by main celebrant Fr Paul-Clayton Lea. “We are still emerging from the effects of the pandemic, which changed the world and scarred many lives. We are…
The Vatican and a local Catholic bishop responded on Sunday to an attack on a church in Nigeria in which at least 50 people are believed to have been killed. The massacre took place during a Pentecost Sunday Mass at St Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State, in southwestern Nigeria. A video posted on Twitter…
The Vatican announced June 2 that Pope Francis has appointed Bishop Robert Barron to lead the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota. Barron, who runs the popular Catholic media apostolate Word on Fire, has served as an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles since 2015. He will succeed Bishop John Quinn, who submitted his resignation to…
Staff reporter Trócaire has been written to by the Charities Regulator to “remind” it that any future political activity must “directly advance and support [its] stated charitable purposes”. The Sunday Times reported that the letter to the overseas development agency of the Catholic Church was the result of two formal complaints related to recent campaigns…
Thousands of pilgrims from across Uganda and neighbouring countries converged on Namugongo, a Kampala suburb, after walking for days to join the country’s annual Martyrs Day observance. The day is observed June 3 at Namugongo Shrine, built on the site where 45 people, including 22 Catholics, were burned to death on orders of the king…
Blessed Carlo Acutis’ tomb permanently reopened to public Visitors to Assisi can once again see Blessed Carlo Acutis, the first millennial to be beatified in the Catholic Church, dressed in jeans and tennis shoes through a viewing glass on his tomb. Archbishop Domenico Sorrentino removed the panel covering Bl. Acutis’ tomb on June 1, reopening…
Mona Lisa smeared in cream in suspected climate protest The Mona Lisa was left shaken but unharmed when a visitor to the Louvre tried to smash the glass protecting the world’s most famous painting before smearing cream across its surface in an apparent climate-related publicity stunt. The perpetrator was a man disguised as an old…
Staff reporter A new book aimed at helping Catholics engage with the ongoing synod process has been launched in Limerick. Bishop of Achonry Paul Dempsey urged all people who care about the future of the Church to be part of the process and use the book as a tool in the wider discernment process that…