Fr Tom Mangan, PP Donoghmore/Knockea/Roxboro in Co. Limerick with Frank and Brid Laing, Noel Hartigan, Brian McMahon, Fiona Godrey, Miriam Gallgher and Paula Ni Dhonaile, getting ready for their skydive which takes place on May 22 as a fundraiser for improvements to the parish parochial house. Photo: Brendan Gleeson

Bishop Michael Smith will lead a group of over 50 young people from the Diocese of Meath to the World Youth Day gathering in Krakow next July. Some of the participants took part in a preparation day in Mullingar on Sunday, organised by Fr Kevin Heery (Navan) and Fr Robert McGivney (Mullingar).

Dublin archdiocese is preparing to host the third annual Ecumenical Bible Week, a week-long celebration of parish-based events around Dublin and surrounding areas focused on Scripture. This year’s theme is Christian attitudes to the crisis of the environment and global warming and it will feature debate, talks and music in 45 free events, across 13…

An Indian priest abducted by gunmen in Yemen two months ago is still alive, according to the Vicar General of the Salesian order, of which he is a member. Fr Francesco Cereda said it is important to “continue paying attention” to the circumstances of Fr Tom Uzhunnalil and “keep communication channels open”, without fuelling “false…

Europe needs a “memory transfusion” if it is to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past, and to pursue a renewed dream of Europe based on Europe’s deep roots, rather than “the shifting sands of immediate results”, Pope Francis has said. Speaking at a ceremony to mark his being awarded the Charlemagne Prize for service…

The former archbishop of Westminster has called on British Catholics to vote to remain in the EU in the upcoming ‘Brexit’ referendrum. Pointing out that the Church has always been broadly supportive of the European Union, Cardinal Cormac Murphy O’Connor noted how recent Popes have challenged the union to renew itself by returning to its…

Electricity could go a long way to stemming violence often attributed to religion, Nigerian’s bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah of Sokoto has said. Violence in Nigeria is attributed to religious conflicts, the bishop said, but “more often it is just a battle for survival and a battle over resources”. Without electricity, he argued, many people cannot…

Christianity’s future in the Middle East remains uncertain, and it is critical that the international community remain engaged, a Syrian Melkite Catholic archbishop has said. Speaking at a visit to the US state of Connecticut, Aleppo’s Archbishop Jean-Clément Jeanbart recalled how persecution has also long been a part of Syrian Catholic history, but that the…

‘Beatnik Jesuit friend’ Fr Daniel Berrigan lived the resurrection Fr Daniel Berrigan SJ, whose protests against government policies earned him multiple prison sentences, was remembered during his funeral Mass as a “fierce, mischievous visionary”, a “Beatnik Jesuit friend”, a priest who “taught the sacrament of resistance” and a loving uncle ruled by faith, not fear. More than 800 people packed New York’s Church…