Personal Profile Fr Simon Nolan O.Carm. was a young college student, he found his faith life to be drifting. But then a profound experience of God’s love at a weekend spent with the Carmelites revealed a religious vocation. Now, he is prior of Whitefriar St. in Dublin and Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy in…
Catholic guides commissioner sworn in A new national commissioner for the Catholic Guides of Ireland (CGI) was commissioned in the North Cathedral, Cork, October 2. Bishop of Cork and Ross Fintan Gavin commissioned Julie Donnelly at an event attended by the Lord Mayor of Cork, Deirdre Forde, and representatives of Guiding and Scouting organisations from…
A prominent Irish theologian has warned that the legacy of Irish religious could be “betrayed” by the gifting of third-level Catholic institutions to the State. The Vatican must investigate several deals made by the Church in Ireland to hand over Catholic colleges in recent years, Prof. Eamonn Conway told The Irish Catholic. The founder and until…
Archbishop of Dublin Dermot Farrell has promised to “streamline” the administrative burdens on parishes, saying it is “critical” to promote outreach. Building Hope Many of the 76% of parishes who have so far participated in the diocese’s ‘Building Hope’ process warned that high administration responsibilities for priests do “not serve the pastoral life of the…
The elderly feel “vulnerable and worry” when they hear talk of assisted suicide and euthanasia, the Irish bishops said in their ‘Day for Life’ message. In a statement read out in parishes across the country on October 2, the bishops warned that many elderly feel like they are “treated as a burden or a ‘bed-blocker’”.…
Personal Profile Long before she became a nun, Sr Helen Culhane RSM wanted to study nursing. Luck didn’t favour her initially and she settled into another career. But after joining the Sisters of Mercy, new doors opened to her and she has spent many years accompanying the sick, the dying and the bereaved. Sr Culhane…
Missionaries and religious have launched a five-year plan to future proof religious life, writes Ruadhán Jones ‘A future with hope’ – this is the title of a new five-year plan launched last week that aims to chart the future for religious and missionary life in Ireland. It comes at a time when the majority of Irish…
The work of Irish religious and missionaries in setting up schools, hospitals and more has been “taken for granted”, warned Fr Brendan Coffey OSB. Fr Coffey, president of the Association of Leaders of Missionaries and Religious in Ireland (AMRI), said the “wider story” of the good done in Ireland by religious isn’t being shown today.…
More than 30 men were sponsored by the Knights of St Columbanus for a faith-filled pilgrimage, Ruadhán Jones hears “Everyone I talked to said there’s great peace out here and I was hoping to get some peace,” says Giorgio*, one of the 32 men who went on a pilgrimage to Medjugorje recently. “And I got…
Church leaders have moved to ensure that those teaching religion in Catholic schools will have a good grounding in Catholic theology and belief. It comes after the teaching council – the State body which regulates the teaching profession – lowered the level of understanding of Catholicism necessary to be employed to teach religious studies at…