Unborn children have significant legal rights far beyond their right to life, a High Court judge has ruled. Pointing out that an “unborn” is “clearly a child”, Mr Justice Richard Humphreys said that article 42a of Bunreacht na hÉireann, entered into the Constitution last year following the 2012 Children’s Referendum, imposes duties towards unborn children…
Greg Daly
Defeat violence with Christian humanism – Bishop Treanor
Violent attacks on our civilisation should be met with a humanism based on a Christian willingness to emulate Christ’s self-sacrifice, Bishop Noel Treanor of Down and Connor has said. Speaking in Belfast’s St Peter’s Cathedral, Dr Treanor called the brutal murder in France of the 86-year-old Fr Jacques Hamel the most recent in a line…
A festival of mercy for the youth of the world
For many of the more than 1,500 Irish pilgrims who joined over two million others in celebrating World Youth Day with Pope Francis in Krakow, preparations for the festival began many months ago while the gathering in Poland began with a week in a local diocese. After time spent with ordinary Poles, World Youth Day…
Living life to the limit in Knock
The HUB in Knock was a hive of activity during the Michaela Foundation Summer Camp, when 55 girls aged 11-13 attended along with 20 leaders. Knock’s third year running the camp saw the ‘campettes’ enjoying a week of activities filled with fun and faith, with the aim of giving them a joyful environment in which…
SVP stalwart receives papal honour
John Costelloe, Tulla Rd, Ennis has been awarded a Bene Merenti award after over 55 years of involvement with the St Vincent de Paul society in Clare. The Ballygriffey native, who has worked for Clare County Council and in Shannon Development, has been involved at all levels of the society, serving as conference president and…
Triple celebration in Dundalk
A jubilee Mass in St Malachy’s Dominican Church, Dundalk, celebrated by Archbishop Eamon Martin of Armagh to mark 800 years of the Dominican order, proved a triple celebration. Not merely did the Mass acknowledge the role of the Dominicans, who established themselves in Dundalk in 1777 from their 14th-Century base in Carlingford, in the area,…
Hollywood star urges prayers for ill fan
Hollywood star Chris Pratt is urging his followers on social media to pray for a four-year-old fan battling brain cancer. A faithful Christian, Pratt, the star of blockbuster hits Guardians of the Galaxy and Jurassic World, says the power of prayer saved his own son when he was born premature and Pratt still regularly shares…
Fr Fintan Monahan appointed new Bishop of Killaloe
Pope Francis has appointed Tuam-based priest Fr Fintan Monahan as the new Bishop of Killaloe. The announcement was made in Rome this morning. The Pontiff has also accepted the resignations of Bishop Martin Drennan of Galway and Bishop Seamus Freeman of Ossory – both for reasons of ill health. Bishop-elect Monahan (49) was ordained in…
Bishop warns planned assembly is a ‘smokescreen’
The planned Citizens’ Assembly is intended to enable the Government to claim a spurious distance from the consequences of a referendum on repealing Ireland’s constitutional pro-life protections, Elphin’s Bishop Kevin Doran has said. Speaking at an event organised by Family & Life, Dr Doran, said that in his personal view, the assembly would be “nothing…
Knock documentary opens in Irish cinemas
A new documentary film on Knock and its apparition will open in Irish cinemas on August 26. Strange Occurrences in a Small Irish Village looks at all aspects of Knock, from the historic apparition of 1879 to the more than one million pilgrims who visit the shrine annually and the community welcoming the faithful visitors.…