More than 100 people, including Church and State dignitaries, attended a farewell gathering for Papal Nuncio to Ireland Archbishop Jude Thaddeus Okolo, June 29. Archbishop Okolo, who spent some six years as nuncio to Ireland having arrived in 2017, is leaving soon to take up a new posting in Czechia. The Primate of All-Ireland Archbishop…
Major climate award for Shankill parish An initiative of Shankill Parish in Co. Dublin has won a prestigious European Churches environmental award for its work tackling climate change. At the recent virtual meeting of the European Christian Environmental Network (ECEN), Shankill Action for a Green Earth (SAGE) was the joint winner of the Roman Juriga…
Parishes in Ireland’s largest diocese are being asked to recommend what nearby parishes they could partner with, as Dublin diocese plans for renewal of faith communities. The almost 200 parishes across the diocese have been gathering the past two months to discuss how the diocese’s resources can be best used, as the Church tackles the…
Well-known priest Msgr Raymond Murray has celebrated sixty years of ministering in the Archdiocese of Armagh. It was while chaplain to prisoners in Armagh that the then Fr Murray first began speaking up about the conditions. He also gave evidence in the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in the case the Irish Government brought…
A pro-life group has said the number of abortions for babies with Down Syndrome has tripled for women travelling from Ireland since 2018, and that pro-choice groups are misrepresenting figures. Spokeswoman for the Life Institute Megan Ní Scealláin said that abortion campaigners, including the National Women’s Council of Ireland (NWCI), were misrepresenting figures regarding women…
The ultimate goal of marriage to Tyrone star Peter Harte’s mind is “to get each other to heaven”. Speaking recently in Drumragh parish, Omagh, Co. Tyrone, Mr Harte said that just as you’re trying to get your spouse to heaven in marriage, you’re trying to get your children there too. Faith “Our challenge now for…
A Catholic primary schools’ body has criticised Minister Josepha Madigan for subjecting four Catholics schools to “trial by media” by publicly “naming and shaming” them. The minister for special education’s decision to put schools in the spotlight over disputes regarding provision of special education classes was “strongly objected to” by the Catholic Primary Schools Management…
Liam Fitzpatrick A Catholic Polish cleaner received €15,000 compensation after he was repeatedly harassed at work for his faith between October 12 and October 22, 2020. In one instance, a colleague allegedly laughed at a tattoo of Jesus on Andrzej Waszkiewicz as he was changing. Mr Waskiewicz also alleged that this colleague ridiculed his race…
The Council for Catholic Maintained Schools (CCMS) in the North has said it is “alarming” they were not chosen to participate in a conference focused on inclusivity last week, which was organised by the Northern Ireland Office (NIO). The CCMS accused the NIO of excluding them and that it was “ironic” considering the focus of the…
Faith plays a crucial role in living a happy life, Harvard Professor and social scientist Arthur Brooks has said. There’s a lot of research on the main happiness habits but faith and life philosophy are the first factors to be considered, Professor Brooks told The Irish Catholic newspaper. “What you do find is that people…
Ruadhán Jones
Chai Brady