The new British government should acknowledge the “fragile peace” people of Faith have strived for in Northern Ireland and prioritse the peace process as Brexit looms, MEP Mairead McGuinness, Vice-President of the European Parliament, has said. Following the Conservatives’ massive election victory on December 12 and Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s moves to make it illegal…
Plans proposed by a Government body to place all children in mainstream schools, including those with special needs, has been dubbed “catastrophic” and “not possible”. The recommendation from the National Council for Special Education’s (NCSE) for a ‘total inclusion model’ would see children placed in mainstream school regardless of the level of their disability. Principal…
Archbishop Diarmuid Martin has said he believes someone with more energy needs to take over the archdiocese, as he is set to send the Pope his letter of resignation on his 75th birthday, in April 2020. During an interview on Newstalk’s Pat Kenny Show, Archbishop Martin said there are many priests doing great work in…
A gambling consultation launched by the Northern Irish government has been welcomed by charities who say the current law is “not fit for purpose” and is leading to “suffering”. Launched by the Department of Communities (DfC) it runs from December 16, 2019 to February 21, 2020 and consults the public and stakeholders as to the…
The heart of the Christmas message is reaching out to those who have no home or have been displaced, the Archbishop of Armagh Eamon Martin has said. Following several recent stories of migrants suffering horrific deaths in containers and arriving on Irish shores the prelate told The Irish Catholic “it’s bringing home to us that…
There was “standing room only” at Barntown and Glynn churches in Co. Wexford over the weekend as children from the parish brought the baby Jesus from their homes to Masses for blessing on Bambinelli Sunday, according to the parish priest. After the weekend celebrations, Fr John Carroll PP said: “The figurines of the baby Jesus…
Chai Brady speaks to couples who met in Lourdes in 2010 and married one month apart Lourdes is a well-known place of pilgrimage closely connected to faith, prayer and helps people gain a closer connection with God, but if three married couples are anything to go by, it can also be a place to…
Well-known singing and now dancing priest Fr Ray Kelly has said he hopes his surprise appearance on RTÉ’s Dancing with the Stars will delight his parishioners and show people that priests are “ordinary guys”. The parish priest based in Oldcastle in Meath, originally from Tyrrelspass, will line up alongside reality TV celebrity Yewande Biala –…
Children who believe in God are much more likely to be tolerant of other religions than those who are atheist, while the vast majority of teens believe religious education is “beneficial” according to a major Irish study. A book launched this week, Religion and Education, The Voices Of Young People in Ireland, found that after…
A parish priest has reiterated calls this week for soldiers who killed victims in the Ballymurphy Massacre to admit what happened, and to “search their conscience”. The final oral submissions of the inquest into the deaths of 10 civilians over three days of violence in Ballymurphy, August 1971, took place in a Belfast court on…