Mike Nelson We can learn much from Scripture and the teachings of the Church about the value of encountering those different from ourselves. Certainly, Jesus’ encounter with the woman at the well (Jn 4:4-42), his dining in the tax collector’s home (Mt 9:10-17) and his parable about the good Samaritan (Lk 10:30-37) speak clearly about recognising…
Ngala Killian Chimtom As more people slip into extreme hunger in Ethiopia following a suspension of food aid by international agencies, Catholic leaders are calling for that aid to be resumed, especially in the hard-hit Tigray region of the country. Bishop Tesfaselassie Medhin of the Ethiopian Catholic Eparchy of Adigrat said any delay in the…
Members of Queen’s University Belfast’s Catholic chaplaincy celebrated in style as they graduated on July 7. Chaplain Fr Dominic McGrattan and Director of Campus Ministry Shannon Campbell joined the students as they marked the completion of their undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in the Belfast college. “Your achievements are all the more impressive given the challenges…
Grand re-openings don’t always happen all at once. In the case of Mission San Gabriel Arcángel, which was nearly destroyed in a July 2020 arson fire, its reintroduction to the public has happened gradually, carefully, in stages. First, there was the closing of the mission’s 250th anniversary Jubilee Year in September 2022, when the restored…
The Sunday Gospel Jem Sullivan July 16, 15th Sunday in Ordinary TimeIs 55:10-11Ps 65:10, 11, 12-13, 14Rom 8:18-23Mt 13:1-23 A real estate agent friend often reminds customers that location is the most important element in buying or selling land. The location of a home or business makes a difference as it determines the value of real estate…
Kerry diocese appointments announced Two priests are to retire from the priesthood in Kerry diocese, as clergy face an “extra workload”, the bishop of Kerry has announced. Bishop Ray Browne thanked Fr Denis O’Mahony and Fr Martin Sheehan for their “great service” over many years. However, the retirements mean two more parishes will be without…
The Latin patriarch of Jerusalem condemned the Israeli government and urged peace and dialogue between both sides after the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) launched air and ground attacks on the Jenin refugee camp in the Palestinian West Bank. IDF soldiers conducted a 48 hour military campaign starting on July 3, which was meant to destroy…
Cardinal: Catholic universities must engage with AI Catholic universities must not recoil from the daunting risks of artificial intelligence but become proactively involved in its ethical development, said the head of the Dicastery for Culture and Education. Catholic universities are obligated “to a delicate exercise of responsibility” in the “new historical era” represented by AI,…
The US Supreme Court has ruled that the First Amendment’s free speech clause protects a Colorado web designer who feared she would be prosecuted under state anti-discrimination law for her faith-based objections to designing websites that promote same-sex marriage or same-sex weddings. Lorie Smith, owner of the graphic and web design studio 303 Creative LLC,…
Persistent violence in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the emergence of new groups of militia are key concerns of the Catholic bishops in the Central African nation. In a statement issued at the end of their June 19–22 plenary assembly, members of the National Episcopal Conference of Congo (CENCO)…