After 12 years as diocesan secretary in Limerick, Fr Paul Finnerty said his new appointment as Vice Rector of the Irish Pontifical College in Rome is “daunting” but “exciting”. One of his first challenges will be to learn Italian. “I will have to hit the books in a big way,” Fr Finnerty told The Irish…
The North’s Minister of Education has praised Catholic school principals for their “vision and commitment to changing education” and their campaign against academic selection. Education Minister, John O’Dowd, was speaking at the annual conference of the Catholic Principals Association (CPA) in the Waterfront Hall in Belfast on Friday. He told the over 300 people at…
Connecting dissident violence in the North to commemorations of the 1916 Easter Rising is too “simplistic” according to a leading political historian. In the wake of the attempted murder of a prison officer in Belfast, CofI Bishop of Down & Dromore, Harold Miller said he was afraid dissident republicans will attempt further assaults in the…
The North’s Minister of Education has praised Catholic school principals for their “vision and commitment to changing education” and their campaign against academic selection. Education Minister, John O’Dowd, was speaking at the annual conference of the Catholic Principals Association (CPA) in the Waterfront Hall in Belfast on Friday. He told the over 300 people at…
The sound of song and laughter emanating from the Church of the Most Holy Sacrament in Cherry Orchard, Dublin last week, not to mention the giant inflatable candle at the door, signalled that the Redemptorist parish was once again hosting its annual Candleweek mission, the “biggest event of the year” in the parish. This year…
Vigilant parishes have foiled an attempt by fraudsters to take advantage of the Trócaire Lenten box appeal. Some homes in two parishes in Co. Offaly were visited by individuals in mid-February claiming to be involved with Trócaire’s Lenten campaign. They delivered Trócaire boxes to the door and left instructions that they would call back after…
A Galway schoolgirl has said meeting Pope Francis was one of “the most amazing moments of my life” after her question was chosen out of 259 entries from children worldwide to appear in a new children’s book by the Pontiff. Clara Ó Gormáin (11), a pupil of the Jesuit Scoil Iognáid in Galway, appears in…
Olympic boxing champion Katie Taylor, known for her strong Christian faith, has said that Irish society is “open to everything except for God”. While the boxer has been mocked for her public expressions of faith, she said “it’s not something that really bothers me”, but that it was a “shame” that in the “country of…
Mags Gargan speaks to an Irish Sister of Mercy working among the voices and memories of Auschwitz The Irish missionary spirit has an incredible scope of outreach, so it should really be of no surprise to learn that a Sister of Mercy from Dublin works and lives at the edge of the Nazi concentration camps…
In a new book published this week Pope Francis answers questions from children around the world, Mags Gargan reports If you could ask Pope Francis one question, what would it be? “How can you settle conflicts in the world?” was a question by Michael from Nigeria (9). William (7) from the USA asked “If you…