In January, The Irish Catholic commemorated the late Pope Benedict XVI who was laid to rest in a simple funeral procession presided over by Pope Francis at the Vatican
2023 Review of the Year
Ruadhán Jones
Irish nun receives Oireachtas award
94-year-old Columban Nun who worked with child victims of drugs in Dublin, directed a medical clinic in Myanmar and helped set up a rehabilitation hospital in Egypt for paralysed soldiers was honoured at a ceremony in Leinster House.
Venerable Madeleine Delbrêl: A missionary and a mystic
The 20th Century was one of history’s most violent and war-torn, marked by atheistic, anti-human revolutions and ideologies that continue today.
Bethlehem Christians long for Christmas miracle as Holy Land war continues to rage
Palestinian Christians in the birthplace of Christ are praying for peace as they mark the coming of the Prince of Peace, while the Israel-Hamas war continues to rage in the Holy Land. Speaking to The Irish Catholic they said “everyone has hope” and are praying for “something better” as the Christian community eschewed traditional public celebrations to…
Cardinal Becciu, five others sentenced to prison at Vatican trial
The Vatican City State criminal court sentenced Cardinal Angelo Becciu to five years and six months in prison on two counts of embezzlement and one of aggravated fraud but found him not guilty of abuse of office or witness tampering. The 75-year-old cardinal’s attorney, Fabio Veglione, told reporters his client would appeal. The three-judge panel…
Cardinal ‘ashamed’ as lawmaker puts out Hanukkah candles in Poland’s parliament
Cardinal Grzegorz Rys of Lodz, chairman of the Committee for Dialogue with Judaism of the Polish bishops’ conference, strongly condemned the incident in which a far-right Polish lawmaker used a fire extinguisher to put out Hanukkah candles in the Sejm, the country’s parliament. “In connection with the incident in the Sejm committed by Mr MP…
Prayer, coffee and a cig with the Poor Clares
The Poor Clares Galway tell Ruadhán Jones about their prayers for busy people What could nuns in an enclosed convent know about the lives of everyday, busy people? It’s a question often asked about nuns, priests and male religious. The answer is, quite a lot more than you would think. “From the sisters who meet…
Synodal process caused ‘uncertainty’ about synodality research shows
The synodal process has increased “uncertainty” about what synodality is and what it means for the life of the Church, Irish research shows. As the Church in Ireland seeks to embed the practice of synodality into the life of the Church, a survey conducted on behalf of the Irish Synodal Pathway steering committee suggests that…
The stories behind our favourite carols
The Christmas carol is a truly egalitarian tradition, Dr Andrew Gant tells Ruadhán Jones Tracing the history of the Christmas carol is a rather futile exercise, but as Dr Andrew Gant’s new book shows, it can be a lot of fun. Drawing from a wide array of folk, ecclesial and national traditions, the carol is…
‘Groundbreaking’ gene-editing therapy gets thumbs up from Catholic bioethicist
A new gene-editing therapy called Casgevy, which is designed to help treat patients suffering from sickle cell disease, has been endorsed by the US-based National Catholic Bioethics Center and its president, Dr Joseph Meaney. Casgevy is a new gene therapy developed by Vertex Pharmaceuticals that uses CRISPR, a genome-editing technology, to modify a patient’s blood…