Dioceses must be fit for mission, says Primate The future of Ireland’s smallest dioceses is coming under increased Vatican scrutiny with a policy to withhold appointing bishops once a small diocese becomes vacant. The Irish Catholic understands at least three of the smallest dioceses will not receive new bishops and will likely be amalgamated…
The Government’s Climate Action Plan lacks vital practicalities and doesn’t allow for necessary incentives and infrastructural changes to enable Ireland to play its part in tackling the global climate emergency, Ireland’s leading eco-theologian has said. “We’ve had so much of aspirational things for the last 25 years,” Columban Fr Seán McDonagh told The Irish Catholic,…
An Irish nun committed to empowering young women in one of the world’s most volatile countries has received an award in recognition of her vital work. Wicklow-born Sr Orla Treacy, of the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, also known as the Loreto Sisters, was given the Societal Impact prize as part of the DCU…
Decisions about Ireland’s dioceses must be driven by discipleship, Archbishop Eamon Martin tells Greg Daly It was inevitable that questions would be asked about the future of the Diocese of Dromore when, just weeks after a new auxiliary bishop was announced for the Archdiocese of Armagh, Bishop Philip Boyce stepped down as Dromore’s diocesan…
As massive protests continued in Hong Kong, the auxiliary bishop pledged to remain with those opposing a controversial extradition bill and the resignation of the Chinese territory’s leader. Although chief executive Carrie Lam announced on June 15 that she had suspended the bill, Hong Kong people were not satisfied and turned out in even greater…
Aontú TD Peadar Tóibín has said the family at the centre of the Holles Street abortion case feel they’re not being “treated fairly” and that the government is ignoring the issue. After speaking to Taoiseach Leo Varadkar under Dáil privilege last week concerning a couple who opted for an abortion at the National Maternity Hospital…
The bishops have rejected claims that Catholic schools do not teach about facts in Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) classes. In their latest quarterly statement, the hierarchy responded to criticisms of the way RSE is taught in their schools. Health Minister, Simon Harris, said in a recent Tweet that RSE “must always be based on…
The US bishops have voted to revise what the US Church teaches its adult members about the death penalty in a passage on the issue in the US Catechism for Adults. The full body of bishops approved the revised passage by a vote of 194 to 8 with three abstentions. It now will need the…
A religious archives repository along the lines of one newly established at Boston College in the US would be “a really good idea” for the Irish Church, Dublin’s diocesan archivist has said. “I think it’s a really good idea,” Noelle Dowling told The Irish Catholic. “I think instead of people trying to invest in archives…
An outspoken pro-life advocate is encouraging others with the same convictions to not be “silenced” in the face of intimidation or bullying. 21-year-old student Gavin Boyne is urging the pro-life community to be resilient in the face of criticism after he received online abuse and a death threat for sharing his views. “I’m a little…
Greg Daly
Colm Fitzpatrick