Faith plays a role in encouraging positive interactions between students online, as bullying moves from schoolyards to social media, according to the secretary for the Episcopal Council for Education. At the launch of Catholic Schools Week in the Killaloe Diocese it was highlighted that this year there will be a year-long catechetical programme working in…
Modern existential anxiety is vocation opportunity, reports Chai Brady Apathy among young people, unawareness of the option of religious life and the invisibility of religious orders in the public sphere are some of the challenges highlighted by Irish vocational directors. Negative public perception of Church organisations and the lack of peers in religious life…
Irish pubs will now be allowed to serve alcohol on Good Friday after the Dáil voted today (Thursday) to lift the ban leaving some campaigners wondering how long the law forcing pubs to close on Christmas Day will remain. The ban will be lifted before Good Friday, which this year falls on March 30. Minister…
Katie Ascough has urged students with pro-life views to “stay strong” and “to follow the courage of their convictions” after receiving an award for her actions as UCD students’ union president. Ms Ascough, who was impeached for ordering the reprint of a magazine that contained illegal abortion information, said that although it may be difficult…
With the theme of Catholic Schools Week 2018 (CSW18) being ‘Catholic Schools: Families of Faith’, Bishop Fintan Monahan speaks about the connection between the upcoming World Meeting of Families and the four themes of the one-year catechetical programme for Catholic primary and secondary schools set up by the Catholic Schools Week Steering Committee. CSW18 was…
Fine Gael TD Kate O’Connell has rejected claims that parts of a controversial Dáil speech attacking the Church were drawn from an article that appeared on a US-based website last year. Speaking during a debate on abortion, calling for repeal of the Eighth Amendment, Ms O’Connell said: “Holy Catholic Ireland was a monstrous hoax. “When…
A government move that could see publicly-funded Catholic counselling agencies closing has been described as “an attack on the independence of civil society”. Currently the Department of Children and Youth Affairs pays almost €1.6 million per year to Accord, the marriage and relationship counselling service run by the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference, via Tusla –…
“Bold steps” are needed before Ireland closes the gap between its climate change commitments and its performance, overseas development charity Trócaire said following the release of an embarrassing government memo. Supporting bills that encourage divestment from fossil fuels and the banning of their extraction will see Ireland move from “laggard to leader” according to the…
Priest pleads with bishop for more exorcists in Ireland Strange occurrences and even demonic possession have caused a leading Irish expert to call on Church leaders to appoint a team of exorcists to cope with what he sees as a rising tide of evil in the country. While for many exorcisms of those possessed…
A balanced use of social media is important in developing positive mental health and good grades, a group of young student scientists discovered. Several projects in this year’s BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition focused on the growing prevalence of social media in peoples’ lives and the effect it’s having from day to day. Participants…