Patrons of World Youth Day 2023 announced Pope St John Paul II and Blessed Carlo Acutis will be among the patrons of World Youth Day 2023 in Lisbon. Cardinal Manuel Clemente, the Patriarch of Lisbon, unveiled the new patrons on May 18, the anniversary of the Polish pope’s birth. The 73-year-old cardinal said that the Virgin Mary…
Dear Editor, I find it unbelievable that media commentators and politicians are objecting to the words “clinically appropriate” in the constitution for the new National Maternity Hospital. Seriously, are we proposing that this State sponsored maternity hospital carry out ‘clinically inappropriate procedures’ even ones leading to fatal consequences? There is a word for deliberately killing…
Staff reporter The Attorney General of Northern Ireland has been granted permission to challenge the abortion exclusion zone bill through a judicial review. The bill seeks to make pro-life protest outside abortion providers illegal, but has been delayed from becoming law while a date for a hearing of the judicial review at the UK’s Supreme…
A roundup of sentiments expressed by TDs concerning the new National Maternity Hospital “As a young woman in my 30s, I do not want the Church next or near my reproductive rights. I stood outside the gates of this House demanding that women who were going through maternity care would have their partners with them.…
Cardinal Joseph Zen, retired bishop of Hong Kong, reassured Catholics he is fine after being detained and held by national security police for his support of anti-government protesters. “I have spoken with Cardinal Zen,” Hong Kong Bishop Stephen Chow Sau-yan wrote on his Facebook page. “He told me to let his friends know that he…
Biden administration officials issued a statement against violence May 9 following protests outside the homes of two Supreme Court justices in the Washington area as well as a spate of vandalism and disruptions targeting locales of groups that oppose abortion, some of which include Catholic churches. Referring to US President Joe Biden by the Twitter handle…
Major US retailers limit baby formula over shortages US retailers including Target, CVS Health Corp and Walgreens said they have limited purchases of infant formula due to a supply shortage. The limits come after top supplier Abbott Laboratories in February recalled some baby formula including Similac made at its plant in Michigan over complaints of…
A Catholic archdiocese in Nigeria May 11 announced the death of a priest who was kidnapped in March. The Archdiocese of Kaduna said on May 11 that Fr Joseph Akete Bako died more than a month after he was seized on March 8, reported ACI Africa. Fr Christian Okewu Emmanuel, chancellor of the archdiocese, said: “It is with a…
The president of the German bishops’ conference has expressed his belief that Church teaching needs further development, in response to critique of the synodal path in that country. The statement came in the latest instance of epistolary exchange between Bishop Georg Bätzing of Limburg and Archbishop Samuel Aquila of Denver. “Our Church needs change in…
Charlotte Vard It was a little over ten years ago when little old me at 18 was put into a leadership role in my youth group and to say I was winging it was an understatement. Fast forward to November 2020 when I officially took up a youth ministry position in my parish, I decided…