At a time when many orders in Ireland are contracting as the vocation crisis bites, the Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal opened a new mission house in Drogheda on Saturday. A Mass and blessing of the mission house took place on January 21 and two young Irish women are ready to take up residence in…
One of the great products of the Second Vatican Council has been a renewed understanding of the common priesthood of the baptised. We are all called to exercise our baptismal priesthood through participation, “each according to his own vocation, in Christ’s mission as priest, prophet, and king”, the Catechism tells us. By virtue of this…
Parents have called for moral teachings and spirituality to be added to the RSE curriculum, a report on the proposed draft curriculum shows. More than 4,000 parents wrote to the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) as part of a consultation on reforming the Junior Certificate relationship and sexual education (RSE) curriculum. An updated…
An Taoiseach has warned that an attack on a church is an attack on all Ireland and those who carry them out must be held to account. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar’s comments come after the altar of a church in Kerry was burned and a Mass in Cork City was violently disrupted last week. In a…
Charlie Chaplin is one of the few silent film stars likely to be known well even by people who have never seen a silent film. The American comic, whose character ‘The Tramp’ was iconic in the silent era, unsurprisingly makes the Vatican list of 45 significant films. The film they chose is the last film…
Corr Na Madadh National School in Athlone will become the first school to transfer from Catholic patronage as part of a new pilot scheme. Minister for Education Norma Foley announced January 12 that the Co. Westmeath school will transfer from Catholic patronage to the local education and training board (ETB) and become a multi-denominational community…
Burgeoning future scientists from around the country gathered in the RDS last week for the annual BT Young Scientist. The young men and women showcased a wide variety of projects from saving Ireland’s ash trees to improving attitudes around recyling, from January 11-13 in Dublin. “It’s been an amazing experience,” said Daniel Castles from Coláiste…
The Filipino Catholic community celebrated the feast of Santo Niño de Cebú on Sunday in a packed Berkeley Road church. Santo Niño is the title given to the oldest Catholic artefact in the Philippines, a statue gifted by the Spaniard Conquistador Ferdinand Magellan to Rajah Humabon in 1521. Archbishop of Dublin Dermot Farrell celebrated Mass…
Parents have expressed anger and confusion over concerns that their schools were being “railroaded” into change of patronage from Catholic to secular management. Community meetings were held last month in eight areas across the country, including Dublin and Cork, as part of a pilot initiative to diversify patronage choices for parents. However, in Raheny, a…
Four men were ordained to the diaconate across the island of Ireland last weekend, at a time of vocations crisis in Ireland. Two sets of ordinations took place on the feast of Epiphany, Friday January 6, in Derry and Sligo, and another on Sunday, January 8 in Belfast. Stephen Ward was ordained by Bishop of…