The Church must encourage young people in the Faith if it is to have a future, Bishop of Cork and Ross Fintan Gavin said on pastoral visit to Gurranabraher parish. Bishop Gavin presented two young members of the Cork parish community with their John Paul II awards during his visit. Adam Sorenson and Paul Sunday,…
Members of Queen’s University Belfast’s Catholic chaplaincy celebrated in style as they graduated on July 7. Chaplain Fr Dominic McGrattan and Director of Campus Ministry Shannon Campbell joined the students as they marked the completion of their undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in the Belfast college. “Your achievements are all the more impressive given the challenges…
Kerry diocese appointments announced Two priests are to retire from the priesthood in Kerry diocese, as clergy face an “extra workload”, the bishop of Kerry has announced. Bishop Ray Browne thanked Fr Denis O’Mahony and Fr Martin Sheehan for their “great service” over many years. However, the retirements mean two more parishes will be without…
EXCLUSIVE A former drug addict-turned-counsellor, who was chosen to share with Pope Francis the devastating effects of addiction on his life, has warned that Church leaders are wrong to back the decriminalisation of drugs. The bishops’ support for decriminalising a person found to possess illegal drugs for personal use has been criticised as “minimising drug…
Multiple attempts by this paper to get a response from SDLP MP Claire Hanna to the question of whether or not she accepts the right of St Mary’s University College to continue to be an autonomous Catholic university have gone unanswered after she appeared to support the “cancelling” of the institution. Despite multiple attempts to…
Staff morale is at an “all time low” as Mary Immaculate College (MIC) announced it has cancelled the third round of interviews for the Head of Theology role. Interviews for the third round of the recruitment process were to take place on Thursday, July 6. Last week, MIC announced that the interviews were cancelled, this…
The Pope’s direction to the newly-appointed head of the Vatican department which deals with discipline and defending the Faith to commit “more directly” to areas other than dealing with child abuse has been described as “very concerning”. Pope Francis appointed Archbishop Víctor Manuel Fernández of La Plata, Argentina, head of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of…
The revelation that children in State care are being targeted by sexual predators due to a lack of national policy and training on exploitation “wasn’t a surprise,” according to an organisation tackling child trafficking in Ireland. The Protecting Against Predators study interviewed 21 staff from 14 agencies working with vulnerable children and found that trafficking…
Known best for his iconic portrayal of Jesus in Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ, Catholic actor Jim Caviezel has said that a new movie he’s starring in aims to motivate millions to end child trafficking. Directed by Alejandro Monteverde, Sound of Freedom is based on true events and stars Jim Caviezel as former…
The Irish community in Paris has joined in prayers for peace following days of protest across France after the shooting dead of a 17-year-old by a police officer. Nahel M., who is Algerian and of Moroccan descent, was shot during a traffic stop in Nanterre, a Paris suburb on June 27. Violent protests broke out…
Ruadhán Jones
Chai Brady