Originating in the Middle East in what is now Turkey, the Church of Antioch was founded by Sts Peter and Paul and is where the word ‘Christian’ originally comes from, according to the New Testament. This developed into the Antiochian Orthodox Church. There are three parishes, in Belfast, Dublin and Kerry. The small community of…
A renowned Irish songwriter has called on the Church to consecrate the ground at traditional sites where Ireland’s unbaptised children are buried. Brendan Graham, who won the Eurovision song contest twice with ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Kids’ and ‘The Voice’ in 1994 and 1996, said it would be a massive thing for the Church to do.…
An official of the Oblates Youth Service said they would be “cautious” booking with Ryanair again after their 79 strong group was stranded for hours in a French airport coming home from Lourdes. Over the weekend, after the Lourdes volunteers had been assisting the elderly and the sick for a week, the group’s flight…
A former refugee on the precipice of suicide was saved by her Church and friends after escaping war and a direct provision centre. Natalia Tsadzikidze, from Clondalkin in Dublin, escaped Georgia in Eastern Europe during a time of political tension and violence in the country. She is now a naturalised Irish citizen. Mrs Tsadzikidze felt like…
Many young people are en-route to “tragedy” owing to homelessness, according to Focus Ireland, highlighting a 98% increase since 2014 of homeless people aged 18-24. Sr Stan Kennedy opened the ‘Youth Homelessness in Limerick today’ event in Thomond Park Conference Centre and called for greater action to be taken in order to support the 826…
A three-hour Mass probably wouldn’t go down well in the average Irish parish, but according to a priest from the Ethiopian Orthodox Church in Ireland, his congregation can’t get enough. It’s not only the length of Mass that makes Ethiopian Orthodoxy different. Almost all the liturgy is musical and has copious singing between the priest…
With space for 50 families, the new Crosscare centre at the Mater Dei Institute in Dublin has opened and is beginning to house vulnerable people. This follows the move of DCU students to St Patrick’s College, leaving the space open to be used as emergency temporary accommodation run by the Catholic charity. The project is…
As the plight of the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar (Burma) worsens Catholic aid workers are helping hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people escaping deadly violence. Bangladesh is bracing for a massive humanitarian crisis because of a lack of food, sanitation, medicines and even basic housing following the exodus of as many as 350,000 Rohingya into…
Pope Francis returned from his trip to Columbia this week after a busy schedule covering five days. During his South American trip millions of people arrived to witness his prayers of peace and unity. There was a welcoming ceremony on the day of his arrival in the late afternoon of Wednesday, September 6, followed by…
China has signed off on revised religious regulations which will lead to greater government control of religions in the communist-run country. The State Administration for Religious Affairs announced that the leading Chinese Communist Party (CCP) signed the State Council order for the newly revised Regulations for Religious Affairs (RRA) which will be implemented on February…