Bishop of Limerick Brendan Leahy has announced a major consultation process for every parish in the Diocese of Limerick, inviting parishioners to help shape the future of local faith communities. In a letter read at all Masses last weekend, October 4-5, Bishop Leahy said the Church must find “new ways, new structures, new models” under the guidance…
Is a call to a car crash a priest’s worst nightmare? This September brought the kind of call most priests dread: “There’s been a terrible crash, can you come?” When details are sparse, the imagination goes into overdrive. Will it be a scene of absolute carnage? Will I know the people involved? What kind of…
Dr Martin Mansergh, who has died aged 78, has been hailed for his key role in the peace process. Former editor of The Irish Catholic – for which Dr Mansergh was a columnist for many years – Michael Kelly said “it is not an exaggeration to say there would not be a peace process without…
“There has always been an amazing amount of solidarity in Northern Ireland for our work to support those in the Global South,” said Peter Heaney, Trócaire’s Head of Region for Northern Ireland, as the Catholic aid agency opened its new Belfast office on Berry Street. Bishop Alan McGuckin of Down and Connor joined the Trócaire…
The Taoiseach and Tánaiste have remained silent following the delivery of a letter bomb to leading Irish journalist David Quinn, who is also director of the Iona Institute. Merrion Square was partially closed as Gardaí and the bomb squad attended the scene last week. The silence of politicans stands in stark contrast to the strong…
Figures released by the HSE show that 12 babies were born alive in Irish hospitals following abortion procedures in 2022, all of whom died soon afterwards. The information, disclosed in responds to parliamentary questions from Independent Ireland TD Ken O’Flynn, revealed that one baby was under 22 weeks’ gestation, nine were between 22-27 weeks, and…
Over the month of September, the Diocese of Cork and Ross has held two meetings for representatives of the 16 groups of parishes to discuss a range of topics raised by parishioners and clergy in the last year. The first of these meetings took place on September 7 in Rosscarbery, and the second on September…
The annual National Vocations Directors Conference took place on September 9-10 at the Knock House Hotel, bringing together directors from every Irish diocese for two days of prayer, reflection, and collaboration. This year’s gathering carried a strong international dimension. Keynote speakers included Archbishop Christopher J. Coyne of Hartford, Connecticut; Fr Anthony Federico, Vocations Director for…
Led and organised by Anto Crossey of Armagh, ‘Walk the Cross’ is an annual pilgrimage event that invites pilgrims to walk 33 kilometres – one for each year that Jesus lived. The event took place in Co. Down and across the UK on the weekend of September 13 and 14. While last year’s event saw…
The Aontú Leader Peadar Tóibín TD has described as ‘extremely concerning’ fresh figures released to him which show that 68,625 children have been reported missing to Gardaí since 2015. The Meath West TD said: “There are very serious questions for the State to answer about the numbers of children going missing in Ireland, in particular…