A vigil has been held in west Belfast to pay tribute to Jennifer Dornan whose body was found after a house fire in the Lagmore area of Dunmurry. The PSNI launched a murder investigation following results of a post mortem. Fr Martin Graham, who was at the vigil, described the mother of three was a…
Courtney McGrail
The anniversary of consecration of Ireland
Dear Editor, I wish to remind the faithful that we are coming to the second anniversary of the Consecration of Ireland to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The Church in Ireland has had its struggles in recent times but we can take heart from the fact that the Irish bishops consecrated Ireland to the Immaculate…
We must not tolerate political church gate collections
Dear Editor, I wish to congratulate Bishop Kevin Doran and Bishop Phoncie Cullinan on their recent statements on political church gate collections. I spent 50 years of my life in Australia and such collections would not be tolerated. The political parties were very fast to close the Vatican embassy and have no shame in holding…
Churchgoers do have the power to stop collections at church gates
Dear Editor, I was surprised to read in The Irish Catholic of 16/07/15 that church gate collections are still taking place in certain parts of the country. The blame for the fact that they are taking place must be shared between the political parties and churchgoers. They would not take place if churchgoers confronted the…
Faith should protest against consumerism
Religious faith ought to be a protest against consumerist culture and “ensure that we do not substitute the politically correct for genuine values”, according to Archbishop Michael Neary. In his homily for the annual Reek Sunday pilgrimage, the Archbishop of Tuam said the acid test of any society or faith “is the care it takes of…
Death of Fr Conleth O’Hara CP
The death has taken place of Fr Conleth (Joseph) O’Hara, CP, the last surviving member of a well-known Bangor, Co. Down family of 10 of whom all eight brothers were ordained priests. Fr Conleth, aged 86, died at St Joseph’s Retreat, Highgate London on July 18 and a Memorial Mass was celebrated there on Monday…
Gay group meets Primate
The group Faith in Marriage Equality (FIME), which campaigned for a ‘yes’ vote in the same-sex marriage referendum, has described a recent meeting with Archbishop Eamon Martin as a “positive step to open dialogue with the Catholic Church”. Dr Richard O’Leary of FIME said the group was “positively received” by the archbishop at his residence…
Tweeters post about being Catholic
Social media site Twitter exploded over the weekend with users posting about what it was like growing up as a Catholic. The hashtag #growingupcatholic was trending in Ireland for a time over the weekend, while tweeters posted fond memories of their youth. Most people tweeted about their experiences at Mass, the sacraments and religion class…
Jesuit pays 10 times estimate for Harry Clarke window
An un-named Jesuit priest was the top bidder in a fiercely-contested auction of stained glass church windows made by the renowned Harry Clarke Studios. The Dublin-based priest paid €31,000 – 10 times the estimate — for a single stained glass panel depicting ‘Saint Francis Xavier preaching in the Orient’. The priest was also the successful…
Priest breaks up brawl
The Administrator of Navan parish in Co. Meath had to step in to end a brawl between a large group of men that erupted outside St Mary’s Church after Mass on Sunday afternoon. The Irish Examiner reported that Peadar Tóibín, Sinn Féin TD for Meath West said as Mass concluded he “could hear raised voices…