The Government should explain whether it believes it ought to be legal to publish anything at all of a blasphemous nature, a former attorney general has said. Speaking in a debate in the Seanad about next month’s referendum on repealing the constitutional ban on blasphemy, Senator Michael McDowell said that rather than simply repealing the…
An Irish family who met the Pope in Croke Park are a testimony to God’s transforming power, writes Greg Daly If few images caught Ireland’s imagination as much during the papal visit as much as Alison Nevin’s selfie with Pope Francis at the Festival of Families, few stories will have caught hearts as much…
Pope Francis’ visit to Ireland showed the need for the Church to hear angry voices as well as joyful ones, England’s leading cleric has said. Speaking in Poznan, Poland, at a meeting of European bishops, Westminster’s Cardinal Vincent Nichols said the Pope’s Irish visit had been “remarkable” and “unlike any other papal visit in my…
There is reason to speculate on how well prepared the Pope was for his Irish trip, writes Greg Daly “It is not enough to turn the page. Life must be given anew.” This quote from Pope Francis headlined the La Civiltà Cattolica account last week of the August 25 meeting between the Pope and…
Changes in Clogher mark a realistic direction for the Irish Church, writes Greg Daly Ask not what your church can do for you, but what you can do for your church. Msgr Joseph McGuinness didn’t say this in any of the recent missives issued from the Diocese of Clogher, but he could have done.…
Vatican plans for a safeguarding summit of heads of bishops’ conferences marks an important recognition that abuse is an issue for the whole Church, and not something restricted to specific countries, leading campaigner Marie Collins has said. Pope Francis announced the unprecedented gathering last week, calling the Church’s first ever global meeting of bishops on…
Corruptio optimi pessima goes the old saying – the corruption of the best is the worst, and one of the most dispiriting things about the internal quarrels that have increasingly marked the English-speaking Catholic internet over the last few years is that commentators, publications, and websites that once were measured and thoughtful have become less…
The first Irish diocese to be subject to a second review of safeguarding practice has been praised for its handling of abuse allegations and treatment of those making complaints and being complained about. The review of the Diocese of Kilmore, conducted by the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland during…
Doctors’ right to conscientious objection will become a “flashpoint” in efforts to protect the lives of unborn children against the background of looming abortion legislation, pro-life GPs have said. “We may have lost the battle on the Eighth but the new battle is to protect freedom of conscience,” Dr Valerie Morris told The Irish Catholic,…
Kilmore Diocese appears to be a model for child protection, writes Greg Daly Anyone in doubt about the role of canon law and proper application of Church processes in tackling child sexual abuse would do well to look at the newly-released ‘Second Review of Child Safeguarding Practice in the Diocese of Kilmore’. Following on…