The Church’s mission is to care for the vulnerable and stand against a culture that seeks to make euthanasia socially acceptable, according to the auxiliary bishop of Armagh. In response to Pope Francis’ message for the World Day of the Sick, which takes place on February 11, Bishop Michael Router said that for some, “illness…

Fermanagh-based priest Fr Joe McVeigh has said that the promotion of Stephen Fulton to grand master in the Orange Order shows “bad form” as the country grapples with violence against women and girls. The appointment of Mr Fulton as district master of Cookstown generated outrage after it emerged that he has a conviction for killing…

The slow divestment of Catholic schools is down to local demand and not the Church, a senior official in the Department of Education has said. The reconfiguration of school patronage is a “slow burner”, Mr Hubert Loftus told the Joint Oireachtas Committee for Education and Skills. However, he added that this “is not necessarily because…

American actor Shia LaBeouf has appeared in a viral clip in which he speaks about how there aren’t enough joyful depictions of Christ on the cross. “You know, the story of Christ is that God became man for our betterment,” Mr LaBeouf, 36, says in the clip, continuing, “so that means he is the ultimate…

Archbishop Eamon Martin has paid tribute to Deacon Martin Barlow, who died recently aged 54. Deacon Barlow, who was one of the first married men to be ordained to the diaconate in Armagh, died just four weeks after being diagnosed with cancer. His funeral Mass was held on Monday in St John the Baptist Church,…

Irish healthcare services would be “much better” if there were more of the Catholic ethos today, an independent senator has said. Responding to the revelation that 95% of parents whose babies are diagnosed with Down’s syndrome at the Rotunda Hospital choose to have an abortion, Senator Rónán Mullen said that “something has happened in our…

The Laudate Festival was celebrated for the fifth time in Dublin archdiocese this week. A diocesan celebration of Catholic primary schools that brings children, schools communities, families and parishes together to praise God and take time for reflection, a choir of hundreds of children from 25 Catholic primary schools in the archdiocese led singing as…

Some 14 schools in the North received the ‘Spirit of Catholic Education’ award, January 30, recognising their commitment to promoting the Catholic ethos. The awards, organised by Down and Connor, paid tribute to the schools for their “inspiring work”, a statement from the diocese said. “These schools are receiving the award in recognition of their…

Pro-life TD to head Oireachtas committee on assisted suicide Kerry Independent TD Michael Healy-Rae has been appointed chair of the special Oireachtas Committee on assisted suicide and euthanasia. It was recommended in 2021 that the Committee be established to undertake an in-depth examination of the topic after an earlier piece of legislation, proposed by Gino…