The Irish bishops’ conference has called for an immediate and complete ceasefire in Gaza, urging Israel and Islamist terrorist organisation Hamas to work for a just peace. “We join with many in our parishes, together with all people of goodwill, in demanding an immediate end to the daily horror of killing, wounding and destruction of…

An Irish expert in deliverance ministry and exorcism has welcomed a booklet brought out by the Catholic bishops’ conference of England and Wales said to help Catholics “protect themselves from the powers of darkness”. In a statement, the bishops said Deliver Us From Evil does not provide a formula of words to be prayed over others, but…

A relic of a young saint-to-be Blessed Carlo Acutis attracted hundreds of young people to gather in St Macartan’s Cathedral in Clogher diocese. Blessed Acutis, who died of leukaemia in 2006 at the age of 15, was known for centring his life around the Eucharist and attending Mass and adoration daily. On October 10, 2020,…

Speaking at the St Patrick’s College Maynooth Annual Trócaire Lecture, Fr Agbonkhianmeghe Orobator SJ, the former President of the Jesuit Conference of Africa and Madagascar, warned that we must collectively commit to assuming “responsibility for the legacy we will leave behind once we leave the world” and that modern Catholic social teaching can inform Catholics…

All parishes in the Diocese of Kerry are being asked to review their security arrangements amid concerns about break-ins and burglaries in churches and other buildings. Churches in Killarney have been targeted in broad daylight over the last number of months, including the rural Muckross Church near the Killarney National Park with money being taken…

A man has been remanded in custody over the alleged arson of the parochial house in Athy, Co. Kildare, on February 18. James Rowan (45) faces allegations of burglary and criminal damage, which caused hundreds of thousands of euros worth of damage, Naas District Court was told. Garda Ken McDonald alleged the defendant stole cash…

Independent Senator, Sharon Keogan, has lambasted the Government’s safe access bill, insisting that the implications of the bill “are just as worrying as the hate speech bill in terms of their impact on civil liberties”. Speaking in the Seanad, Senator Keogan said that she had “raised concerns with the House about this bill’s draconian implications”…

‘Distinct’ role of faith must be respected in policy The distinct role faith plays in the North must be respected in policy bishops and experts have said as a new poll shows that 80% of people in the North identify as Christian – compared with just 46% in England and Wales and 74% in the…

The Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference has said the upcoming referenda relating to the definition of family is “likely to lead to a weakening of the incentive for young people to marry” and has urged people to oppose the two proposed amendments to the Constitution in the March 8 referenda. In their statement, the bishops said…

Catholic-founded charities helped pave the way to assist the most vulnerable who were being rejected by local authorities for housing, according to the National Director for the ‘Housing First’ initiative in Ireland. Rob Lowth told The Irish Catholic that Fr Peter McVerry, who founded the Peter McVerry Trust, saw from a “very early time” the…