Irish Jesuit bishop says women are not second class citizens EXCLUSIVE REPORT The bishop of Down and Connor, Alan McGuckian has unequivocally said that he thinks the door to the female diaconate is shut and that his fellow Jesuit Pope Francis should have said so. The bishop made the comments during an interview with…
Former Taoiseach John Bruton’s deep Catholic faith shaped his politics, his intellectual life and his understanding of public service, his widow Finola Bruton told a gathering at Maynooth during an award ceremony honouring his legacy. Speaking at the event, Mrs Bruton reflected on the late statesman’s religious convictions: “For John, his faith was a given,…
While Church debates continue about synodality and reform in preparation for an Irish Synod in October, Bishop Niall Coll of Raphoe has delivered a clear and sometimes firm message: the next generation of Catholics is not looking for endless discussion or progressive experimentation — they are looking for truth. Speaking to a gathering of over…
Church leaders and parishioners in the Holy Land have appealed for Irish Catholics to come and follow in the footsteps of Jesus both to deepen faith and support the hard-pressed local Christian community. Many Christian families, who rely on working with pilgrims, have lost their incomes since the beginning of the war triggered by the…
A prominent Irish Jesuit has publicly urged bishops, including those in Ireland, to ask Rome to place the question of women’s priestly ordination on the agenda of the study groups accompanying the Synod. “I repeat my proposal,” Fr Gerry O’Hanlon SJ writes in February edition of The Furrow, “that bishops, including Irish bishops, who have qualms…
Blackrock college abuse survivor David Ryan had a private audience with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican last Monday. Speaking to RTÉ after the meeting Mr Ryan described the Pope’s empathy for his experience as “genuine”, and said “he was so sorry to hear of my pain…and for the other survivors who haven’t come forward…
Exclusive Ireland has lost the equivalent of 300 primary school classrooms in a single year due to abortion, according to the Bishop of Achonry and Elphin, Dr Kevin Doran, who has warned that the consequences are now being felt in school closures and declining enrolments across the country. Citing official figures showing that 10,852 babies were aborted…
Former President Mary McAleese has told Catholic school girls that parts of the Church’s teaching is “rancid” and warned that Pope Leo XIV is no reformer — but merely a “stopgap” Pope. Speaking in a podcast interview with pupils from St. Dominic’s Grammar School in Belfast [McAleese’s old school] which was released to mark Catholic Schools Week,…
As Catholic Schools Week is marked this week across the country, The Irish Catholic has learnt that the Irish Bishops’ Conference is establishing a commission to examine how the Catholic Church might assist the process of school divestment in Ireland. The move comes after more than a decade of discussion about the future patronage of…
As Catholic Schools Week is marked across the country, news that the Bishops’ Conference is establishing a commission to examine how the Church might aid the process of school divestment will be welcomed by many. It suggests a long-overdue action to engage seriously with a reality that has been discussed, debated, and deferred for more…