Dear Editor, In a report by Jason Osborne [The Irish Catholic – May 11, 2023], Fr Enda Cunningham said that couples preparing for marriage should be made “aware that the Sacrament of Marriage can be celebrated in its own rite, aside from the celebration of the Eucharist”. Fr Conor McDonough OP argued that in certain…
The Mexican Bishops’ Conference (CEM) expressed “consternation and pain” over the May 22 murder of Augustinian Fr Javier García Villafaña and demanded “an exhaustive and transparent investigation”. “We strongly condemn this act of violence that has not only taken a life but also threatens peace and justice in our nation,” the Mexican bishops said. “It’s…
Pope Francis has asked Italian Cardinal Matteo Zuppi of Bologna to lead a mission “to help ease tensions in the conflict in Ukraine,” the Vatican press office said. The appointment of the cardinal, who is president of the Italian bishops’ conference and a long-time member of the Sant’Egidio Community, was confirmed May 20 by Matteo…
The Diocese of Irapuato in the Mexican state of Guanajuato expressed its “profound consternation” over a fire deliberately set at Santiaguito (St James) Church and called it a “sacrilege”. In a statement published May 15, Fr Efrén Silva Plascencia, spokesman for the diocese, said that the fire “was set on the exterior by a male…
The number of victims of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church in Poland between 1944 and 1990 may be close to 1,100 with the number of abusers close to 300. Those are, however, not the official findings of the Church in Poland. On March 15, the bishops announced they will create a commission of experts…
May 28 – Pentecost Acts 2:1-11 Ps 104:1, 24, 29-30, 31, 34 1 Cor 12:3b-7, 12-13 Jn 20:19-23I Deacon Greg Kandra I can’t remember the last time I heard anyone say, “Happy Pentecost”. We are so eager to send glad tidings at Christmas and Easter, exchanging gifts or food or flowers, but shouldn’t Pentecost be…
An unidentified man is in custody after driving a car at high speed through a gate at the Vatican May 18, the Holy See press office said. A guard stationed at the Santa Anna entrance fired his weapon in the direction of the vehicle’s front tires, hitting the left front fender, but the vehicle proceeded…
Dear Editor, Pope Francis deserves much credit for his heroic witness and work for a just and lasting peace between Ukraine and Russia [The Irish Catholic, May 18, 2023]. Let me be clear from the outset, this is not a ‘two sides’ conflict. Russia’s illegal, unjust and genocidal invasion of Ukraine must be condemned by…
Columnist with The Irish Catholic David Quinn says he is relieved that a Limerick woman who seriously defamed him on social media has apologised and the case is now concluded. The issue arose last May during the controversy over the Religious Sisters of Charity and the proposed relocation of the National Maternity Hospital. Karen Sugrue,…
Parishes and lay associations can be a leaven for each other, writes Prof. Susan Timoney “To speak in general terms, we may say that the Christian is to the world what the soul is to the body.” Rather than a contemporary summary of the Second Vatican Council’s idea of the renewal of the vocation of…