The ordination of Bishop Larry Duffy was a powerful expression of a deep faith in Clogher, writes Greg Daly “He’s common sense down to his fingertips – a deeply spiritual man, but a very ordinary one,” a former parishioner of Ireland’s newest bishop said as the crowds struggled to make their way down the…
Missionary lessons from Africa can’t easily be applied in Ireland, Clogher’s new bishop tells Greg Daly For years a recurring cry from Ireland’s Association of Catholic Priests was that the country’s bishops were being appointed from outside their dioceses, as though they were outsiders imposed without suitable local consultation. As former papal nuncio Archbishop…
Irish priests promise to stand by the people Exclusive Irish missionaries in beleaguered Venezuela have said they see fresh hope in large peaceful protests against the government of President Nicolás Maduro. Although the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart say the situation in the South American country is much worse now than even a year…
Dublin parishioners are being asked to come up with creative ways to help spark faith in parents who bring their children for First Holy Communion but are not churchgoers. In a wide-ranging consultation process launched this week, parishes will be asked to face up to the reality that of the many children who receive the…
Consecrated Life 2019 The variety of consecrated life in modern Ireland is dazzling “God has created me to do him some definite service; he has committed some work to me which he has not committed to another,” Blessed John Henry Newman famously wrote, and for those dazzled or baffled by the variety of consecrated…
Consecrated Life 2019 Irish religious are still making a difference around the world, Greg Daly is told “Being a missionary is a life choice, and it is a choice for life – the notion of retiring doesn’t even enter into the equation,” Heydi Foster, CEO of Misean Cara, tells The Irish Catholic. Citing the…
Should young children be allowed in Church? Too many have commented on this question in recent times to skate through them here, but it’s been a big debate on the Catholic internet, with serious questions being raised about what actually happens at Mass, what we believe Mass is about and about whether a Church without…
Parishes and comunities need to take responsibility for tackling the country’s housing crisis, leading homelessness campaigners have said, calling for pressure to create political will around the issue. “Trying to get people out of homelessness while others are coming into it is like trying to empty bathwater with the taps full on,” Fr Peter McVerry…
Political leaders across Ireland and Britain need to work together to show leadership around Brexit, Archbishop Eamon Martin of Armagh has said. Describing border communities as “worried” and “anxious” about the UK’s impending exit from the European Union, the Primate of All-Ireland told iCatholic.ie that they “are wondering what is going to happen, and when…
The decision to cease pilgrim Masses in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela for the next year is unlikely to affect numbers of pilgrims on the Camino, according to an Irish pilgrimage company. “I think the overall pilgrimage – the walk itself – is the experience. The pilgrim Mass at the end is the nice…