Chai Brady, Ruadhán Jones and Jason Osborne Verbal attacks against the Catholic Church in the Dáil are inciting violent incidents targeting churches and parishioners Irish politicians have warned, adding that the Republic of Ireland is for very many Catholics now “a cold house where they feel they have to hide their faith”. The comments come…
Including abuse victims in policy design ‘positive’
Leading child protection campaigner Marie Collins has said plans to include survivors and victims of clerical abuse in developing the Church in Ireland’s response to victims’ needs is a “positive move”. However, the former member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors warned that it would only work if it’s “not just window…
Ukrainians in Ireland prayed for peace at Christmas, chaplain says
The Ukrainian Catholic community in Ireland prayed for peace in Ukraine and the world as they celebrated Christmas in Dublin on January 7. The Mass was “very emotional”, especially for those whose sons, brothers and husbands are still in Ukraine fighting Russia, Fr Vasyl Kornitsky told The Irish Catholic. “All of us Ukrainians, in Ukraine…
News in Brief
Bible dating back to 1615 auctioned in Belfast A bible dating back to 1615 went under the hammer in east Belfast January 10. Part of a sale at Bloomfield Auctions from a private collection in a gentleman’s residence, the aged tome travelled from Devon with its former owner Elizabeth Pole to what is now Massachusetts,…
Police storm Bolivian church in crackdown on demonstrators
The pastor of Holy Cross parish in the Archdiocese of Santa Cruz de la Sierra in Bolivia, Fr Raúl Arrázola, denounced the violent intrusion of a group of policemen into his church on Sunday, January 1. In a statement to the Bolivian newspaper El Deber, Fr Arrázola said that a group of police officers “violated…
Jesus of Nazareth: The key to knowing Benedict
Michael Heinlein Since Pope Benedict’s death at age 95 on December 31, much ink has already been spilled detailing both his accomplishments and failures throughout his long life of service to the Church. In the end, though, all the coverage boils down to one question: ‘Who was the real Pope Benedict XVI?’ While it will…
Former archbishop of Paris under investigation for sexual assault
The former archbishop of Paris, Michel Aupetit, is reportedly under preliminary investigation for sexual assault on a vulnerable person, according to a report from the Archdiocese of Paris in late November 2022, French news channel BFMTV reported. According to the TV channel’s report, the allegations date back to 2011 and concern a vulnerable former parishioner,…
Pope tells ambassadors to defend unborn life
Pope Francis called on ambassadors to the Holy See to safeguard the rights of the unborn to “combat the throwaway culture”. The address to the diplomatic corp took place on Monday, January 9 and was attended by Ireland’s Ambassador to the Holy See, as well ambassadors across Europe and the US, where debates around abortion…
Catholic bishop, priest released after two months in Eritrea prison
After more than two months in detention in Eritrea, Bishop Fikremariam Hagos Tsalim and Fr Mehereteab Stefanos have been released, several sources have reported. The 52-year-old bishop heads the Eritrean Catholic Eparchy of Segheneity. Fr Stefanos, before his imprisonment, was a parish priest at St Michael’s Parish in the same eparchy. It is still unknown…
Fr Dick Mohan remembered as a pioneer at Lough Derg
The innovative work of the late prior will ensure a bright future for St Patrick’s Purgatory, writes Mary McDaid It was with a very deep sense of sadness and loss that the death of Msgr Richard Mohan on Sunday January 1, 2023 was learned of by the staff and pilgrims of Lough Derg, by the…











