The Church should make “unconventional couples” feel at home instead of making them targets of “de facto discrimination,” the leader of the Italian bishops’ conference has said. “Couples in irregular matrimonial situations are also Christians, but they are sometimes looked upon with prejudice,” said Bishop Nunzio Galantino, an apparent reference to divorced and remarried Catholics.…
Mags Gargan
Marian youth conference books out
Hundreds attended the annual Catholic Youth Conference organised by the Legion of Mary in Dublin.
Catholc hospitals accused of ‘bending knee’ to State
Catholic hospitals have caved in to Government pressure
Outrage after sectarian song played outside church again
Bishop Donal McKeown has said Northern Ireland is still a place where “confrontation rather than conciliation is the name of the game”.
Diocese of Kerry Earth Week 2014
Kerry parishes are being called on to do their bit for the environment as part of Earth Week 2014, which the diocese is celebrating from September 21-28, making the care of creation an integral part of diocesan and parish life. Fr Gerard Finucane, Chairperson, Diocese of Kerry Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation Committee said:…
Candle light walks for childhood cancer
Next month the Childhood Cancer Foundation (CCF) will run the Light It Up Gold awareness campaign, which will involve three candle lit walks in Dublin, Cork and Galway on September 6 at 6.30pm. These walks and candlelit vigils serve to recognise and support the bravery of children undergoing cancer treatment, honour the survivors and remember…
A note on faint praise
Dear Editor, I note Peter Costello’s faint praise of the noted Marian theologian, Fr Rene Laurentin with reference to Medugorje! “He is perhaps as reliable and as well informed a writer as can be found these days” but “what he says does not always carry conviction, as in the case of Medugorje”. Seemingly, he is…
Jesus has final word on just war
Dear Editor, A recent article by Mary Kenny (IC August 14) discusses the just war theory of Thomas Aquinas and implores the prudence of our leaders about when to put it into practice. In such matters why don’t we refer such questions directly to Jesus himself? In one of the most solemn moments of his life before…
Remembering Canon Mark Diamond
Dear Editor, I think it is probably important that we mark the death of Canon Mark Diamond, who died on the feast day of Saint Muredach. At a time in the history of Christianity in Ireland which currently seems to be punctuated by a corrosive secular view of the dignity of mankind, he at alltimes…
Funerals are losing sense of the sacred
Dear Editor, I once attended a humanist funeral which was mainly about memories of the deceased person. Today Catholic funerals are largely similar, apart from the formal liturgical content. The homily, which is primarily meant to explain the scripture readings, is instead a combination of a eulogy and canonisation decree. Spiritual input generally presumes a…