More than a third of Irish people plan to attend Mass this Christmas, when Covid-19 restrictions are lifted according to new research. In news that will bring cheer to priests and parishioners alike, almost a quarter of 18-24-year olds say they expect to attend a religious ceremony over Christmas while for older people this rises…
Between 30,000 and 40,000 people a day continue to watch Mass on television, according to Roger Childs, RTÉ’s Senior Production Executive and Commissioning Editor of religious content. The weekday Masses on the news channel continue to attract large audiences, particularly among whose aged over 55. Since the start of August, the lowest daily audience was…
A renowned Dublin-based exorcist has said bishops who don’t take the Devil seriously are leaving their flock to “the wolves of evil”. Speaking to The Irish Catholic Fr Pat Collins CM described the revelation that two-thirds of Ireland’s dioceses don’t have an exorcist as “appalling”. His comments come after this paper reported on initial research…
A decision by a student committee at Dublin’s Trinity College to warn a Catholic society to stop praying “would seem to fly in the face of Trinity’s avowed commitment to diversity,” according to a well-known barrister and Catholic commentator. The Irish Catholic reported earlier this month that Trinity’s Central Societies Committee (CSC) warned the Laurentian…
A new report by University College Cork exposes the “barbarity” of late-term abortions and should be a “wake up call”, pro-life campaigners say. The report, published in the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, examines the experiences of Irish practitioners of abortion in the case of life-limiting conditions, or ‘fatal foetal abnormalities’. The report shows…
Knock Shrine’s Mass of Remembrance “went down extremely well”, according to Fr Richard Gibbons, Rector of Knock Shrine, citing a “fantastic response” to the event. “We’d a fantastic response to it, actually, because it just struck a chord with people in terms of even the visual effect of seeing all those candles for each one…
Minister Paschal Donoghue was pressed by TD’s not to “bring candles into the VAT net”, stressing their importance for personal prayer. The exchange occurred as a proposal in the Finance Bill 2020, which would introduce a tax on prayer candles, was being debated. TD PeadarTóibín questioned the timing of the VAT change and highlighted the…
Almost half the women presenting for early abortion services at a family planning clinic were already mothers, according to the clinic’s report. The Irish Family Planning Association’s (IFPA) 2019 annual report, which covers the first year of abortion services, analysed data from 177 clients for insight into who is having abortions. The IFPA report states…
Former Minister of Justice Charlie Flanagan TD has praised the Presentation Sisters in Mountmellick, Co. Laois, for their “hugely dedicated” work in education. Mr Flanagan, who is currently the Chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence, made the comment in a Tweet posted on the Feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin…
The move will be felt as a “great loss” by many but is a sign of changes in the way people express their faith, according to a local historian. The Belfast-based confraternity met for the last time on Sunday, November 22, 123 years after it began in July 1897. Belfast historian Brian McKee believes that…
Chai Brady