The North’s leading pro-life group Precious Life has submitted a massive 300,000-strong petition to Stormont urging legislators to keep Northern Ireland abortion-free. In a response to a recent petition on behalf of Amnesty International calling for abortion access to be extended to the region, which claimed 45,000 signatures, Bernadette Smyth of Precious Life joined with…

Bishop Fintan Monahan of Killaloe will join priests of his diocese for this year’s Mercy on the Mall event at Shannon’s Skycourt Shopping Centre on December 8. Now in its second year, and building on the warm reaction from shoppers in 2015, Mercy on the Mall will take place from prime shopping time of 1pm…

Christians in post-ISIS Iraq face new challenges, writes Paul Keenan

The ‘Mercy Tent’ initiative held by priests and volunteers from Clonard Monastery in Belfast has been hailed “a great success” following high demand and positive feedback from visitors. Entering the hustle and bustle of Christmas shopping at the Kennedy Shopping Centre, Clonard set up its tent for two days, November 18 and 19, inviting shoppers…

The Pope’s extension of the special permission for priests to grant absolution to those who have procured an abortion has been welcomed as an “important step” by a prominent canon laywer. Reacting to the Pope’s announcement in his latest Apostolic letter of an indefinite extension of a faculty granted to priests during the Year of…

The nation’s bishops have issued a plea in the war on drugs, writes Paul Keenan

Bishop Fintan Monahan of Killaloe has appealed to Government and others in positions of leadership to “maintain rural life”. Speaking to The Irish Catholic this week as An Post signalled that a major wave of post office closures is possible, Bishop Monahan said the “impoverishment of rural Ireland” remains a big issue of concern for…

Students and society would benefit if Religious Education was included as a core subject in the curriculum of all schools, an expert in education will tell a conference on faith education in Kerry next week.  Dr Amelee Meehan, who works in the area of faith leadership for the Catholic Education an Irish Schools’ Trust (CEIST),…

The Pope’s representative in Ireland has pledged to do all he can to help re-integrate priests who have been disciplined by the Church for promoting views contrary to Catholic teaching. Papal Nuncio Archbishop Charles Brown also said that Irish Catholics had to face up to the reality that parishes will increasingly be staffed by non-Irish…

The late performer Leonard Cohen touched so many people with his music due to his search for spiritual fulfilment through the medium, broadcaster Fr Brian D’Arcy has said. Speaking to The Irish Catholic this week about the impact of Leonard Cohen’s life, apparent in the global outpouring of grief and tributes that followed his November…