The US Department of State among others has demanded the release of Bishop Rolando Álvarez of Matagalpa and other imprisoned Nicaraguan religious leaders following a wave of detentions targeting Catholic clergy over the Christmas season. The January 2 statement described Bishop Álvarez and the other religious leaders – including Bishop Isidoro Mora of Siuna –…
The Archbishop of Malta and close confidant of Pope Francis, Charles Scicluna, has called for a “serious discussion” about celibacy. The Catholic Church should consider revising its rules to allow Catholic priests to marry, Archbishop Scicluna told the Times of Malta newspaper. “This is probably the first time I’m saying it publicly and it will…
Dear Editor, Over the past few years, dioceses around the country have been debating how to balance the demand for funerals with the diminishing numbers of priests. Before this issue can be addressed, there is however a more fundamental conversation that needs to be had: the question of what a Requiem Mass is and what…
Jem Sullivan 1 Sm 3:3b-10, 19 Ps 40:2, 4, 7-8, 8-9, 10 1 Cor 6:13c-15a, 17-20 Jn 1:35-42 The new year is a good time to begin anew in our spiritual lives. Along with resolutions to improve our health, habits and relationships, a renewed commitment to prayer gives direction to our inmost longings for…
Freedom, in many of its manifestations, is under threat around the world, whether it be freedom of speech, freedom of assembly or freedom of thought and conscience. We know only too well of the many instances in 2023 where governments shut down journalists and media and in some cases actually targeted journalists and campaigning citizens…
Leitrim town gives thanks after tornado During Mass in St Joseph’s Church, Leitrim Village, the site of a tornado last year, Fr Séamus O’Rourke CC Carrick-on-Shannon gave thanks to the Lord for protecting the lives of those in the town. “Tonight, here in Leitrim village, we come together in thanksgiving for the Lord saving the…
Fr John Harris OP The movie, Silence, tells the story of how in the 17th Century two Portuguese Jesuit priests travelled to Japan in an attempt to locate their mentor whom it was rumoured had committed apostasy. Their task was to locate him to discover if this was true and if so bring him back…
Handel’s Messiah offers soul-food this Christmas season, writes Fr Vincent Ferrer Bagan OP The “Hallelujah” chorus from George Frideric Handel’s Messiah is probably the most well-known classical piece of music written for choir. People love to hear it, and they love to sing it. If you have sung in a school, college or church choir,…
David Mills One of the most important rules for living in the world is: You are probably not who you think you are, and many others know you better than you know yourself. This is an old-guy lesson, I’m afraid, one of those lessons one learns from long and painful, often embarrassing experiences. We charge…
Archbishop Eamon Martin has decried the “shocking” example of modern warfare in Gaza in his message for World Day of Peace. Reflecting on Pope Francis’ message highlighting the “serious ethical questions related to the armaments sector”, particularly the weaponisation of artificial intelligence, the archbishop of Armagh said “we must not lose sight of the shocking…