When prelates and lay delegates gather in October for the upcoming Synod of Bishops, they will be asked to directly confront a number of pressing questions including the possibility of women deacons, access to the priesthood for married men, the integration of LGBTQ+ Catholics and penance for sexual abuse and the abuse of power, conscience…
Ireland’s newest bishop has said that the synodal path inaugurated by Pope Francis is an opportunity for the Church to become more participatory. Speaking after his ordination in St Mel’s Cathedral in Longford on Sunday, Bishop Paul Connell, new Bishop of Ardagh and Clonmacnois, said: “Placing our faith and trust in God involves, above all,…
About 150 of the Faithful from parishes across Armagh archdiocese tackled Croagh Patrick, Co. Mayo, on a pilgrimage aimed at marking the 150th anniversary of the dedication of St Patrick’s Cathedral in Armagh. The enthusiastic parishioners made the climb on Saturday. It also helped raise funds to help the cathedral into the future.
Our culture ‘despises the body’ – bishop Our modern culture claims to emphasise body over spirit, but it actually “despises the body”, Bishop Donal McKeown has said. While “modern ideology” says bodies are “just a thing to have fun with, to be altered as my fancy takes me”, the Church teaches that the body is…
People who take part in religious practices are less likely to get depression, see a slowing down of the ageing process and don’t die as early as people who don’t take part in religious services, according to one of Ireland’s leading authorities on ageing. Principal investigator of The Irish Longitudinal study on Ageing (TILDA), Prof. Rose Anne Kenny…
Mary Immaculate College has slammed what it describes as “unwarranted attempts” to influence the interview process for appointing a new head of theology. This post has been vacant since last summer. The college will not engage with any party making “unwarranted attempts” to seek information that might have the effect of “unduly influencing the course…
Catholic teaching on sexuality is not about oppression but “ultimate happiness” a barrister in the North of Ireland has said following a report by the NI Human Rights Commission (NIHCR) criticising the delivery of relationship and sex education (RSE) in schools. In the report the NIHCR noted that some schools were promoting abstinence before marriage as…
There was a “significant increase” in the number of historic abuse allegations made to the Church’s independent safeguarding watchdog last year. The National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland (NBSCCCI) said that many of the reports relate to alleged abuse in boarding schools run and managed by male and female religious,…
Irish runner Rhasidat Adeleke said she is “grateful to God” after winning gold with a record run in the NCAA Championships in Texas. The 20-year-old became the first Irish sprinter to win a NCAA title after she registered a meet-record time of 49.20, breaking her own Irish 400m record in the process. “Grateful to God…
Thousands of the Faithful, including many young people and families, descended on St Patrick’s Cathedral in Armagh to visit the relic of Blessed Carlos Acutis, who died of leukemia when he was 15 in 2006. Archbishop Eamon Martin of Armagh archdiocese welcomed the relic to the cathedral on Sunday morning, where it stayed until Tuesday.…
Ruadhán Jones
Chai Brady