In the West Nile region of Uganda, farmer Nelson Alimuke has helped build a brighter future for his family after enrolling in the Sustainable Agriculture Livelihood Programme at the Adraa Agriculture College, a project of the Franciscan Brothers missionaries. Using farming methods learned during the training, Nelson and his family have built a successful venture…
Irish Church needs to ask itself ‘Where are we now?’ – AB Martin
Archbishop Eamon Martin has said the 200th anniversary of Catholic Emancipation which will take place in 2029, is an opportunity to re-engage and educate a modern public with the Church’s key role in Irish history. ‘I think Catholic Emancipation provides a very useful backdrop for us to examine the role of the Catholic Church in…
Career-only education damages humanities – Dr Ryan
Education is increasingly viewed only in terms of career outcomes, which undervalues the humanities according to Dr Fáinche Ryan, President of the European Society of Catholic Theology, and based in Trinity College Dublin. “Education has become very orientated towards jobs. So, in that we lose our vision of what education might be – and of…
Return to Sunday Mass, bishops urge
The Irish bishops have issued a nationwide appeal to Catholics to return to Sunday Mass, describing the celebration of the Eucharist as “the source and summit of our faith”. In a pastoral message titled Why Sunday Matters, released as part of the Jubilee Year of Hope, the bishops emphasised the centrality of Sunday as the…
First-class relic of Carlo Acutis to be installed in Ardfinnan
Holy Family Church in Ardfinnan, Co. Tipperary, will soon become the home of a first-class relic of Blessed Carlo Acutis – set to be canonised as the Church’s first Millennial saint on September 7 by Pope Leo XIV. Fr Michael Toomey PP will travel to Assisi following the canonisation Mass in Rome to receive a…
Theologian urges deeper reflection on war at Trinity College conference
A renowned theologian has urged Irish Catholics to confront Europe’s wars with deeper theological reflection and hope at a conference held in Trinity College Dublin (TCD). Among the keynote talks at the TCD theology conference last week was the address by Prof. Tomáš Halík of Charles University, Prague, a leading Catholic academic in Central Europe.…
Stop pretending—Catholic schools must choose Christ or collapse
Primary schools have been in the headlines for months, and not for happy reasons. Underfunding has reached historic levels, the cost-of-living crisis has deepened the strain, and families—especially those with children who have additional needs—are left fighting bitterly just to secure the most basic support. In some areas, oversubscribed schools leave parents devastated when their…
Theologian urges deeper reflection on war at Trinity College conference
A renowned theologian has urged Irish Catholics to confront Europe’s wars with deeper theological reflection and hope at a conference held in Trinity College Dublin (TCD). Among the keynote talks at the TCD theology conference last week was the address by Prof. Tomáš Halík of Charles University, Prague, a leading Catholic academic in Central Europe.…
Trinity Prof. elected President of Catholic theology society
Trinity College academic Dr Fáinche Ryan, has been elected President of the prestigious European Society of Catholic Theology at the International Congress of the European Society of Catholic Theology hosted in Dublin from August 22-24 by the Loyola Institute, Trinity College, Dublin The European Society for Catholic Theology (ESCT) is the preeminent organisation in Europe promoting the…
Prof. Janet Soskice warns against forgetting God the Creator at Dublin theology congress
The European Society for Catholic Theology’s international congress, held at Trinity College Dublin last week, opened with a keynote lecture from Prof. Janet Martin Soskice, Emeritus Professor of Philosophical Theology at the University of Cambridge. In her address, titled ‘Have We Forgotten God the Creator?’, Prof. Soskice urged theologians to recover a deeper understanding of the…







