Mags Gargan speaks to the Diocesan Pastoral Coordinator in Ossory If anyone is qualified to take the pulse of the Church on the ground in Ireland, it would be someone in Gemma Mulligan’s position. As Diocesan Pastoral Coordinator, the core part of her job is to visit parishes in the Diocese of Ossory on a…
The Archbishop of Armagh has urged politicians in the North not to undo the progress made during the peace process following a return to a “language of division” in the run up to the Assembly election last week. Archbishop Eamon Martin expressed concern that the principles of the Good Friday Agreement “are perhaps not as…
An Irish Columban sister who was violently attacked by a masked assailant in the Philippines, will not let her “terrible ordeal” affect her work, according to her congregational leader. Sr Kathleen Melia (70), who is originally from Co. Leitrim, has worked as a missionary in the Philippines for over 30 years, in particular campaigning for…
The current scale of humanitarian need is “unprecedented” warned Trócaire, as it launched Ireland’s largest annual fundraising campaign this week. The bishops’ overseas aid agency is targeting humanitarian relief for up to one million people with its Lenten campaign, which will see schools, communities and parishes coming together over the next six weeks to pledge…
Newry couples celebrate with ACCORD Bishop McAreavey and Canon Michael Hackett recently concelebrated a Mass of Commitment for Engaged Couples in the Cathedral of SS Patrick & Colman in Newry, which had a special significance for those preparing for marriage in the Diocese of Dromore. Later, at a short reception held in the Newry Parish…
Mags Gargan looks at simple recommendations for parents to keep children safer online Cyberbullying has been described as the “child-protection issue of our time” and it can be very difficult for parents to walk the fine line between allowing their children access to the benefits of the internet while protecting them from the dangers. In…
A Co. Galway parish pastoral council is on a mission to improve parishioners’ health this Lent with the launch of an ‘Operation Transformation’ style of fitness scheme. Based on the health and fitness programme on RTÉ One, parishioners are being invited to follow the fitness regime of six leaders in Annaghdown parish taking part in…
The Bishop of Meath has signed a decree to establish what is believed to be the first new monastery in the diocese since the suppression of the monasteries by Henry VIII. Bishop Michael Smith presided at the canonical establishment of the monastery at Silverstream Priory on Saturday, “erecting the Benedictine Monks of Perpetual Adoration of…
A new community of the Servant Sisters of the Home of the Mother will be established in Roscommon at the invitation of the Bishop of Elphin. Last week Bishop Kevin Doran visited the Servant Sisters of the Home of the Mother Cantabria in the north of Spain to finalise the agreement with Mother Ana Maria…
The winning team from St Mary’s University College, Belfast “gave thanks” at Knock Shrine after defying the odds in an incredible ‘David and Goliath’ football final. St Mary’s is the North’s only Catholic institution of higher education and with just over 1,000 students and less than a quarter of them male, the underdogs unseated the…