Bikers from across the country gathered on November 6 to remember Fr John Kearns, an active member of motorbiking organisations before his death in December 2021. Fr Kearns was chairperson of the Bikers’ Memorial Committee, which organised the November 6 event, up until his death from cancer aged 64. Newly elected chairperson Annmarie Marshall paid…
“Out ethos won’t change”, a Catholic-founded hospice has promised as it becomes one of four hospices entering into a closer alignment with the HSE. The CEO of Milford Care Centre, founded by the Little Company of Mary, has said a new funding arrangement with the HSE will not affect the hospice’s independence. “Our ethos won’t…
The Pro Life Campaign held their first in-person national conference since 2019, with a large crowd focused on the theme of ‘Saving Lives and Facing the Future with Hope’. Guest speakers encouraged the Irish pro-life community to keep fighting for the cause, pointing to signs of hope in the overturning of Roe vs Wade. The…
Work of prison chaplains ‘unheralded’ The work of prison chaplains is “vital but unheralded”, Bishop of Kilmore Martin Hayes said on Prisoners’ Sunday. In a homily, Bishop Hayes prayed “for all prisoners”, and remembered “their families, all prison staff and prison chaplains, whose work is vital but unheralded within prison services throughout the world”. Referencing…
Personal Profile Sometimes we expect a ‘voice from the cloud’ moment when it comes to vocations, according to Fr Dave Twohig O.Carm. But for him, there was no clear line to his own vocation. Instead, it gradually evolved until he realised that he wanted to serve people as a priest. “Believe it or not, that’s…
The country’s largest diocese has received an almost €10 million payout from insurance companies to cover money lost due to Covid-19 church closures when collections could not be taken up. The Archdiocese of Dublin’s financial reports for 2021 show that it received €9.4 million as compensation for losses under the business interruption clause of its…
The embattled Lord Mayor of Dublin has insisted that it was always her intention to keep the traditional nativity scene outside Mansion House, minus the animals. Addressing her fellow councillors on Monday, Mayor Caroline Conroy said she wanted to deal with “one misunderstanding” that had arisen through “erroneous” reporting in the media. “There will be…
Dublin diocese’s financial report shows it’s struggling to make up for Covid-driven income cuts, writes Ruadhán Jones As Ireland’s largest diocese, Dublin’s financial reports always make for important reading in gauging the Church’s financial health. This year’s two reports submitted to the Charities Regulatory Authority (CRA), covering the period up to December 31, 2021, were…
Churches must find practical solutions to the energy crisis, says Fr Peter O’Reilly, who questioned the ethics of heating large, inefficient churches,. Churches can keep their energy costs down and tackle fossil fuel use by using parish halls or centres instead of churches “created for numbers that no longer exist and impossible to heat”, the…
Personal Profile When Eric Cooney was young, he had a sense of a vocation to the priesthood. However, he recognised that celibacy would have proved difficult for him and put it aside. But when the possibility of becoming a permanent deacon arose, he took the chance and says he feels blessed in his ministry. He…