Medical professionals are concerned they may be compelled to perform or facilitate abortions despite believing them to be profoundly wrong, according to a speaker at a pro-life medical conference. Speaking to The Irish Catholic at the ‘Medical Care and the Eighth Amendment’ conference in Dublin, Dr Andrew O’Regan said doctors and other medical professionals are…
The referendum on the Eighth Amendment is proposing “a wide-ranging right to abortion”, a group of 100 lawyers have said. The Constitution as it stands respects the right to life of mothers, and “protects the right to life of the unborn only to the extent that such protection is consistent with the right to…
A leading cardinal has said the Church in Ireland must be prepared to consider closing hundreds of churches to concentrate resources on building strong faith communities. Speaking in Dungarvan on Monday, April 16, on ‘What the Irish Church could learn from the recent history of the Church in Holland’, Utrecht’s Cardinal Willem Eijk said that…
The Pope should do more than ask forgiveness from the survivors of a prominent Chilean priest if the Church is serious about a ‘zero tolerance’ approach to fighting abuse, Marie Collins has said. Last week Pope Francis apologised for underestimating the seriousness of the sexual abuse crisis in Chile following a recent investigation into allegations…
Government involvement in the Amnesty repeal launch glosses over the organisation’s flouting of Irish law, writes Greg Daly Amnesty International Ireland may have fallen foul of the State’s ethics watchdog, but that hasn’t stopped Health Minister Simon Harris from endorsing the organisation in its campaign to remove Ireland’s constitutional protections for the unborn. Such,…
At this stage it probably goes without saying that Gaudate et Exsultate, the Pope’s new exhortation on holiness in ordinary life, was always going to be dismissed by some as like the proverbial curate’s egg: good in parts. Writing at catholicworldreport.com, for instance, in a piece headed ‘Pope Francis “takes aim” in Gaudete et Exsultate…
Pope Francis has issued a rallying cry to Catholics urging them to not allow a rigid adherence to rules to turn the Church into a museum. In a landmark new document on the call to holiness for all believers Rejoice and be Glad, Pope Francis also insisted that priests much become “passionate missionaries” rather than…
State takeover would make NAMA ‘look like a garden party’ Proposals to introduce a new national sex education curriculum without a religious influence could be open to a constitutional challenge, a leading academic has said. “The State can impose certain things on schools, including such things as a certain minimum level of education,” UCC’s…
It is vital to support the farming community if Ireland wants to keep people on the land, Bishop John Buckley of Cork and Ross has said. Speaking to The Irish Catholic after an appeal for all Masses in the diocese to include prayers for the farming community, Bishop Buckley said parishes had responded well to…
A Fine Gael senator has provoked criticism after complaining publicly on social media about an Easter Sunday Mass where the priest preached about the sanctity of all human life. Catherine Noone – who chaired the Oireachtas Committee on abortion and is a leading campaigner for repeal of the Eighth Amendment – later deleted the tweet which…