Cavan-Monaghan TD Brendan Smith has said that the global persecution of Christians is “not an issue that gets near enough widespread coverage as it should” and that he was shocked by the contents of the recent Church in Chains Global Guide. Speaking to The Irish Catholic newspaper, Fianna Fáil TD Brendan Smith said that he…
A review of the State’s abortion laws has been compiled and sent to Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly. Barrister Marie O’Shea was appointed last year as the independent chairwoman of the review, and she has submitted her final report to Minister Donnelly. A spokesman for Mr Donnelly said he would consider its findings and bring…
The Ukrainian apostolic visitor to Ireland has welcomed the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) decision to issue an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin. The ICC accused President Putin of committing war crimes in Ukraine, focusing in particular on the unlawful deportation of children from Ukraine to Russia since the invasion in February 2022. “The…
Healthy and well-adjusted societies do not see surges in the use of drugs, writes Jason Osborne According to a recent United Nations report, Irish people are the joint fourth-highest consumers of cocaine globally, relatively speaking. The report (based on data from 2019 – the most recently compiled) revealed that 2.4% of Irish people reported having…
Debate over John Paul II’s handling of abuse during his time as archbishop threatens to further tear Poland in two, writes Jason Osborne It’s hard to overstate the place St Pope John Paul II occupies in the Polish psyche and society, as few other countries have comparably titanic figures at all, never mind within living…
In my mind, Pope Francis’s 2018 visit is inextricably connected to the then recent referendum defeat. I had only come into active engagement with the Faith as the vote drew near, and while it didn’t go our way and ushered in a dark new era, it brought Christians of all stripes together as little has…
Despite his parents being told at birth that it was likely he would never speak, Belfast-born actor James Martin became the first person with Down syndrome to win an Academy Award at the weekend. An Irish Goodbye won the Oscar for best live action short film. The film follows the story of two estranged brothers,…
Who else could feature as the saint of the week but our very own patron saint, St Patrick? Fortunately, we know a good deal about this archetypal holy man as he wrote two accounts that we have access to today – quite unique for that region at that time, as texts are scarcer than historians…
One of the things that most hinders the Church in its mission and makes people reluctant to interact with it is the real presence of sin in those who profess to be Catholic. Every person walking the earth is a sinner, but those who claim to be adhering to the heights of goodness, truth and…
Tánaiste Micheál Martin has said that his department will consider how best to “most effectively” continue Ireland’s work on freedom of religion and belief in light of the findings of the Church in Chains Global Guide’s contents and findings. Church in Chains recently launched their 4th Global Guide which lists 60 countries where 200 million Christians…