UCD’s Prof. John McCafferty considers why the Reformation wasn’t embraced in Ireland
Courtney McGrail
Prelate to face Vatican trial on charges of sexual abuse of boys in Guam during’60s/’70s
The Vatican is reportedly preparing to hear the trial of a prelate implicated in sexual abuse on the Pacific island of Guam. Following investigations into the conduct of Archbishop Anthony Apuron of the island’s sole Diocese of Agana, the Apostolic Administrator appointed by Pope Francis to oversee the diocese, Archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai, has…
Chaldean Patriarch visits liberated Christian towns
Leader of the Chaldean Christian community in Iraq, Patriarch Louis Raphael I Sako, has visited six newly liberated Christian towns of the Nineveh Plain. During the visit to the towns of Bartella, Karmles, Qaraqosh, Teskof, Baqofa and Btnaya, the Patriarch met with and thanked soldiers “who restored the crosses on top of the churches”. In…
Inaugural Mass in Holy Family School
Archbishop Diarmuid Martin pictured with students of the Holy Family School for the Deaf in Cabra, Dublin, where the archbishop led the school’s inaugural Mass on October 26. The Mass marked the opening of the school year at the amalgamated St Joseph’s School for Deaf Boys and St Mary’s School for Deaf Girls, located…
World News in Brief
Louisiana court rules in favour of Confessional seal A court in the US state of Louisiana has ruled that a priest is not compelled to report information of a criminal nature received during Confession. The judgement, handed down by the state’s Supreme Court, arose from a case in the Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge in…
Cardinal warns against England ‘trading in fear’ over migrants
The Church’s leading prelate in England and Wales has criticised his country’s leadership for “trading in fear” around the question of migrants and the Brexit referendum. In an interview with the BBC, Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster said it “what we seem to be living with is a kind of popular leadership which is basing…
A peculiar detail
Dear Editor, One of the most peculiar details in your troubling analysis of Veritas’ financial position (‘Veritas: kept afloat by the bishops’ IC 3/11/2016) is a passing reference to how 2014’s closing inventory was revalued after the submission of the 2014 accounts. If 2014’s closing stock was really worth almost €400,000 less than previously estimated,…
Archbishop Neary departs Vatican’s liturgy watchdog
Just three members of the Irish hierarchy remain active members of Vatican departments, following the news that Tuam’s Archbishop Michael Neary is one of almost 20 prelates leaving the Vatican’s department of the liturgy. The Vatican announced on October 28 that 27 new members had been appointed to the Congregation for Divine Worship and the…
Abuse commission hears submissions on Cardinal Pell
An Australian commission examining cases of clerical child sex abuse has been urged to discount oral testimony from Cardinal George Pell, who is linked to the case of abuser priest Fr Peter Searson in the 1980s. In a submission to the Royal Commission, lawyers Gail Furness and Stephen Free insist that the claim of then…
Bishops’ reaching out dismissed as ‘sugar coated push off’
Staff Reporter A founding member of the Association of Catholic Priests (ACP) has described a letter from the hierarchy to the organisation as a “sugar-coated push off”. Redemptorist Fr Tony Flannery also expressed the view that future meetings between the ACP and the Irish bishops’ conference would be a waste of time. He was responding…