EXCLUSIVE A lack of formation and Canon Law are “major roadblocks” to embedding synodality and co-responsibility in Ireland, Irish dioceses have said in new submissions ahead of the October listening sessions in Rome. Additionally, there is “complacency and paralysis” when it comes to laity assuming responsibility locally, despite the “pressing need” to involve laity in…

The number of Catholic weddings made up just 35% of all those taking place in the State – the lowest recorded figure since the year 2000 – with civil ceremonies (32%) catching up quickly, marriage statistics for 2023 show. The proportion of Catholic weddings fell from 40% in 2022, while the percentage of civil ceremonies…

Those who challenge modern certainties are “taken to the edge of the cliff”, the Abbot of Glenstal said in a homily at Trinity College Dublin (TCD), encouraging openness to all knowledge in education at a time when free-speech debates rage on college campuses. Fr Brendan Coffey OSB also railed against the “irrational fear” behind a…

Students generally perceive the religious ethos of their school positively, but were less likely than staff to perceive ethos to be important, a new study on school identity has shown. Some students saw their schools’ religious ethos as playing an important role in promoting awareness, tolerance, and respect, while others disagreed with the religious ethos…

EXCLUSIVE The “window is narrowing” to save Catholic education, and the Church must act now to increase investment and streamline resources by divesting schools to the State according to an in-depth report on Catholic schools in Ireland has warned. Catholic ethos will become “invisible” in schools if the Church doesn’t respond to the “trajectory of…

The Irish Jesuits are to hand back Gardiner Street Parish to Dublin diocese after 50 years ministering to Dublin’s north inner city, the order announced Monday. While St Francis Xavier church will remain attached to the Jesuits, it will cease to be a parish church from August 1 this year, becoming part of the neighbouring…

The Church can’t downplay the centrality of the priesthood to the life of the Church because of not wanting to “offend sensitivities”, Bishop Alphonsus Cullinan said at the close of the Year for Vocation. The charism of the priesthood has been an essential in the makeup of the Church since the beginning, the head of…

Homelessness charities believe human trafficking is becoming “more prevalent” and they are coming in contact with more victims, according to a new report from Christian NGO Depaul. Depaul published An Overview of Homelessness and Human Trafficking in Dublin in conjunction with UK-based charity The Passage on Monday. The report found most homelessness charities believe they…