The beginning of an inquest into the shooting of 10 innocent people during the Ballymurphy Massacre is the “first step on the road to justice” according to campaigners. The inquest began in Belfast on Monday, with relatives of the victims gathering outside the Laganside Court and holding pictures of their loved ones. Ballymurphy parish priest…
Church-based charities are fighting to “ensure” refugees faced with homelessness in a direct provision centre in Dublin find accommodation before time runs out. Clondalkin Towers houses almost 250 people, with 70 of them having received their refugee status. Residents were told in October that the centre’s management company Fazyard Ltd would be closing the facility…
The Pro-Life Campaign has urged supporters not to vote for Fianna Fáil in the next general election to protest against the party’s refusal to back amendments to limit the scope of abortion legislation. In a hard-hitting statement as the Oireachtas Health Committee debated the proposed legislation, a spokesperson for the PLC pointed out that one…
Christian persecution must be pushed up the political agenda in Ireland to highlight the dire cases people face globally, according to an Irish MEP and TD. Irish politicians spoke in light of the “horrible dilemma” a persecuted Christian in Pakistan faces after violent protests broke out after her blasphemy acquittal. The case of mother of…
Irish charity Ruhama have welcomed the “success of the PSNI” after new figures revealed they rescued 36 potential trafficking victims in the first six months of the 2018/19 financial year. In total 36 victims were rescued in the 2017/18 financial year in the North of Ireland. CEO Sarah Benson told The Irish Catholic that a…
Exclusive Archbishop of Armagh Eamon Martin has said the Church in Ireland needs to embrace the model of engagement of Pope Francis and think seriously about a national synod or meeting of the Church here. Fresh from the month-long Synod of Bishops in Rome at which the Pontiff appealed for bishops to be more responsive…
Many Catholics would be unaware of the process of a synod, let alone the details of the recently published final document of the synod on youth – but it heralds big changes in Ireland’s Church. Irish Catholics are set to become much better acquainted with synods and synodality, and not just as a distant process…
The Diocese of Clogher plans to engage priests and laity in the coming months in the development of lay-led prayer. Clogher’s Annual General Priests’ Conference in Monaghan, chaired by Diocesan Administrator Msgr Joseph McGuinness, dealt with a variety of organisational matters for diocesan and parish life in the year ahead including lay-led prayer and liturgies…
The Government should focus on tackling anti-Semitism online following what’s been dubbed as the deadliest rampage against the Jewish community in US history, according to the chair of the Jewish Representative Council of Ireland. “If we look at this particular incident in Pittsburgh, unfortunately people who have these mental aberrations their feelings are given vent…
Bishop Donal McKeown has likened Brexit to radical nationalist movements in Germany, France and the US under Donald Trump’s administration, saying the Church’s message is more appealing to “many young people”. The Church’s message focuses “very strongly on the whole idea of reconciliation and healing, it certainly has a huge contribution to make,” he told…