TV star Dog the Bounty Hunter has urged a thief who burglarised his deceased wife’s store to come forward, stressing his actions were unbiblical. Duane ‘Dog’ Chapman said he is willing to forgive the robber if they hand themselves in. His wife, Beth Chapman, last month died after a battle with cancer. Speaking at a…
Irish Catholics should anticipate more attacks on their local churches, a Tipperary-based priest has warned after Nazi swastikas were painted on his Catholic oratory. The warning comes on foot of three attacks on churches in the midlands as well as numerous other recent attacks on religious buildings and statues. Fr Michael Toomey told this newspaper…
Questions of Faith Many Christians today – usually fundamentalists or those of the evangelical tradition – believe that God created the world in six days, in accordance with the Genesis account described in the Bible. This well-known passage outlines a six-day schema of creation, concluding on the seventh day that God rested. “By the seventh…
The discovery of an ancient monastic site just outside Drogheda is “significant” as it offers an insight into how religious lived at the time. Dom Richard Purcell, abbot of Mount Melleray Abbey, told this newspaper that the 13th–Century Cistercian settlement which is currently under excavation in Meath’s Beamore “tells us more about the life of…
Questions of Faith The question of whether Christians and Muslims worship the same God has been a point of contention among different religious denominations and various scholars. It has been suggested that the sheer disparities theologically and philosophically between both religions indicate that its adherents must be praying to separate deities. It seems, however, that…
More than 100 pilgrims from a Carlow parish packed their sunscreen and shorts this month as they made their way to France to celebrate camaraderie and Faith. Parishioners of Graiguecullen and Killeshin took part in the 43rd annual pilgrimage to Lourdes, and with the help of parish fundraisers, 30 people with disabilities were also able…
The role of female laity must be “enhanced” so that they are brought into the decision-making process of the Church, Armagh’s new Auxiliary Bishop has said. Speaking ahead of his ordination Mass in St Patrick’s Cathedral on Sunday, Dr Michael Router told this newspaper that the majority of worshippers are female, and stressed that the…
Near-empty churches and unused parish land should be repurposed to help save the environment, a leading eco-theologian has said. Kevin Hargaden of Dublin’s Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice told this newspaper that instead of being dispersed over a number of churches, parishioners should gather in “larger groups”, creating opportunities for vacant churches to be…
The Church can’t afford to lie back and do nothing, Bishop Michael Router tells Colm Fitzpatrick At a time in Ireland when the Church is experiencing tumultuous and unprecedented change, visionaries who can move it in the right direction are needed more than ever. The challenges are well-known and can’t be solved overnight –…
Armagh’s new Auxiliary Bishop Michael Router said that the Church of the future will be smaller and humbler – but those who practice the Faith will do so because Christ is at the centre of their lives. Speaking at his ordination Mass in St Patrick’s Cathedral on Sunday, the former Kilmore priest said that our…