Strandhill, one of the most stunning seaside villages in Ireland, will be front and centre for this year’s St Patrick’s festival celebrations, as Mass for St Patrick’s day comes live from the Sligo location on RTÉ1 at 11am. The village at the western edge of Sligo Bay has a close association with St Patrick, who…
Questions of Faith A common question that often puzzles believers and non-believers alike concerns God’s hiddenness. The question might look something like this: “If God wants us to know and believe in him, why doesn’t he present himself more explicitly, perhaps through a miracle? If God can do anything, surely this is the first thing…
Famous Hollywood actor Mark Wahlberg has offered his love, prayers and blessings to people across the world, in observance of Ash Wednesday. The popular celebrity, well-known from movies like Ted and Transformers, posted a special message to his 12 million Instagram followers at the beginning of the Lenten season. “It’s here – one of my…
An Irish human rights charity has called on Pakistan’s new ambassador to Ireland to ensure that religiously persecuted Asia Bibi and her husband are granted permission to leave the country. Church in Chains, an Irish charity that encourages prayer and action in support of persecuted Christians worldwide, wrote to Mr Sardar Shuja Alam today requesting…
Questions of Faith It can seem odd to non-believers that at a certain point every year, Catholics abstain from certain practices considered comfortable, or adopt new behaviours aimed at improving their spiritual lives. While initially this may sound slightly off-the-wall, there’s a very good reason behind it. The season of Lent lasts 40 days (technically…
Parents shouldn’t be relying on loan-sharks to curb the “crazy” costs of Communion celebrations, a spokesperson for a well-known family support centre has said. Valerie O’Carroll, manager of Ballymun Child and Family Resource Centre in Dublin, said it’s “absolutely crazy” the amount of money being spent on Communion celebrations, noting that the Sacrament has transformed…
€8m a year spent helping grieving relatives Rising funeral costs are forcing some families to face the heartache of choosing to bury relatives long distances from their loved ones, The Irish Catholic can reveal. This newspaper has also obtained figures which show that more and more people are also being forced to rely on government handouts…
A popular Sydney-based Irish priest has said he has serious doubts about the conviction of Cardinal George Pell for sexual abuse. Fr Brendan Purcell, who has known Cardinal Pell for more than 20 years insisted that there are serious questions about the fairness of the trial in which the cardinal was found guilty of abusing…
Questions of Faith One common argument presented against religious people is that faith is completely incompatible with science and the empirical method. The sentence might go something like this: “I only believe in what we can see, analyse and prove, whereas religion says we should believe ideas based solely on faith. They’re completely contradictory.”…
Colm Fitzpatrick explores the price of Irish funerals and how to curb the costs Everyone has heard the expression that “nothing in life is free”, but as it turns out, even death can be a pricey affair. With the costs of some funerals toppling into the tens of thousands, it’s no wonder that life expectancy…