The head of Irish Jesuits International has said that the Indian government “literally killed” an elderly missionary priest whose death was announced on Monday. Fr Stan Swamy SJ died while awaiting bail in an Indian prison where he was being held on charges of sedition, believed by many to be politically-motivated claims from the government…
Singer Tolü Makay praised her Pentecostal church for facilitating “a space where I could grow my skill in singing” in a recent interview. Speaking to The Irish Examiner ahead of her virtual appearance at the West Cork Literary Festival, the 24-year-old told of how Gospel singing taught her how to connect with a song. “Music…
The principal of Cross and Passion College Ballycastle welcomed the “wonderful opportunity”, which will allow the secondary school to expand while maintaining its Catholic ethos. Planning permission has been granted for a shared campus between the Catholic school and Ballycastle High School, a local Church of Ireland school in the Co. Antrim town. Principal Paul…
Irishman Bishop Joseph Shanahan’s impact in Nigeria continues 100 years on, Sr Chinyeaka Ezeani MSHR tells Ruadhán Jones Bishop Joseph Shanahan is not a household name in Ireland. But in parts of Nigeria, it’s hard to move without seeing his name: schools, colleges, hospitals and halls all bare the name of “Nigeria’s St Patrick”, Sr…
In their annual reports, chaplains in Ireland’s 12 prisons have called for new recruitments, as services are squeezed due to the “intense needs” and the often “challenging” nature of the work. While the appointment of a head prison chaplain has been a “great boost”, the 2020 chaplains’ reports highlighted ratios as high as one chaplain…
From the Outside: Rethinking Church Doctrine by Fr Tony Flannery (Red Stripe/Orpen Press, €15/£13.99) Fr Tony Flannery CSsR has been barred from his public ministry for nine years and was most recently in the public eye having declined to sign a document from the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith (CDF) that would have led to…
The Bogman by Walter Macken [1952] (Modern Irish Classics/New Island Books, €11.95) Walter Macken may be a familiar name to some of our readers. In the 1960s, he was a hit author, with a best-selling trilogy of historical novels, and before that he was a successful actor and playwright with the Abbey Theatre. Knowing this, New…
Personal Profile Fr Colm O’Mahony OSA wears many hats: vocations director for the Augustinians in Ireland; student master for the pre-novitiate; and prior and bursar of the Drogheda community. But it was always the call of community life that attracted him to the Augustinians, and his zeal for work ‘on the ground’ is constantly renewed…
The Department of Health’s annual report on abortion statistics shows that of the 6,577 abortions carried out in 2020, just 122 were carried out in situations where the life of the child or mother was in danger. A further 194 women travelled to the UK to for an abortion in 2020, which brings the figure…
The European Parliament’s (EP) decision to adopt a resolution that denies the right to conscientious objection has “very serious consequences” for us all, Bishop Alphonsus Cullinan warned. The EP voted June 24 to adopt the Matic Report, a resolution which also calls for abortion to be declared a human right, by 378 votes in favour…