Category: Feature

Nuncio unites embassies for charity bazaar

Claire 
Fitzpatrick The Papal Nuncio is leading diplomats in helping “protect the vulnerable” in Ireland as he announced the charities that will be supported at this year’s International Charity Bazaar (ICB). Archbishop Jude Thaddeus Okolo told ambassadors and their spouses at his residence last week that they’ll be supporting four charities that cover a range…

Humble and devoted pastors to their flocks

In their contrasting ways two much-loved priests offered selfless pastoral service to different faith communities, writes Martin O’Brien The diocese of Down and Connor was both in mourning and in thanksgiving last week after the deaths on the same day of two of its most beloved and distinguished priests, Fr Des Wilson and Msgr Ambrose Macaulay. They…

An end to Trachoma blindness is in sight

Leave a Legacy Supplement Chai Brady speaks to Sightsavers about the devastating diseases and blindness they combat Easily treated diseases that are now quickly tackled in the Western world with readily available medicines are still a scourge in developing countries, with blindness being one of the “devastating” outcomes. Charlie Lamson, CEO of Sightsavers, told The…

Maynooth: Looking to a renewed future

Ireland’s bishops have big plans for the pontifical university, writes Greg Daly   Buried near the end of a long and thoughtful address in Rome’s Irish Pontifical College a couple of weeks ago on the relevance of St John Henry Newman in Ireland today, Dublin’s Archbishop Diarmuid Martin had something startling to say about St…

Catholics must not be afraid to bear witness to their Faith

We must find the courage to speak clearly, a Dutch cardinal tells Greg Daly When the Irish Catholic Doctors’ Learning Network decided to build its annual conference this month around the theme of ‘Powers and Powerlessness: Responding to the Challenges of Modern Healthcare’, one obvious potential speaker was the Cardinal Archbishop of Utrecht, Wim Eijk.…

Visa vexation at new scheme for religious

Chai Brady speaks to religious orders about ‘confusing’ Minister of Religion visa procedures After a Government department updated its policy regarding visas for clergy and religious hoping to do pastoral work in Ireland, confusion and claims it is outright “discriminatory” have followed. A division of the Department of Justice stopped issuing Minister of Religion (MoR),…

Defending and nurturing Catholic education

Your Faith in Our Schools Chai Brady learns about the unique approach of true Catholic schooling The power of Cat-holic education is the person-centred approach of teachers who “nurture” pupils and truly get to know them over time, according to the incoming chair of the Catholic Principals Association (CPA) at their conference in Belfast at…

Irish coasts filled with Rosary prayers

The third Rosary on the Coast for Life and Faith took place across Ireland in over 250 locations this month, with thousands of people taking part. Organisers say an estimated 20-25 people prayed the rosary at each of the locations around Ireland on Sunday, October 13. Over 200 people prayed at Laytown, Co. Meath. This…