Staff reporter Irish pilgrims have escaped the worst of the summer travel chaos in Dublin airport and abroad, Marian Pilgrimages have said. While many travellers have struggled with cancelled flights and lost baggage, pilgrim tour operators use of charter flights and regional airports means they have been largely unaffected by these issues. “We are having…

Each of the 13 “pastoral areas” in Ossory diocese will have a vocations director, as the diocese brings the fight for vocations to the local level. The move addresses one of the “key areas” identified by the diocese’s 2015 pastoral plan, according to co-ordinator of the plan’s implementation Gemma Mulligan. “One person will be nominated…

New form of ‘team ministry’ in Ferns Priests in the diocese of Ferns will be assigned to a “team ministry” to cater for parishes without a resident priest, Bishop Ger Nash has said. The appointments, which take effect August 15, are as a follows: Fr Jim Doyle has been appointed Chaplain, Irish College Paris for…

Staff reporter Catholic third level institute Carlow College has been offered to the State with “no strings attached”, An Taoiseach Micheál Martin said in the Dáil. Mr Martin, responding to questions from TDs about the Church’s involvement in education, said the “issue of the role of the Church within education” has “evolved significantly”. He cited…

Staff reporter The chapel in the Poor Clares’ convent in Galway has been reopened to the public after “badly needed” repairs to nearby buildings. The roof of some of the convent buildings was “badly in need of repair with rain coming through the ceilings of the top floor bedrooms”, the order said in a statement.…

We must resist the temptation to make Catholic organisations our own form of safe spaces, writes Ruadhán Jones Lay Catholic societies and youth groups play an important role in the modern Church. My experience of University College Cork’s informal Catholic society was vital to my faith, strengthening it by uniting me with like-minded Catholics. We…

Abortion figures for 2021 show the number of abortions in Ireland is at almost 20,000 in three years, writes Ruadhán Jones Figures released by the Department of Health last week revealed that around 6,700 abortions took place in Ireland in 2021, bringing the total number to almost 20,000 since abortion was introduced three years ago.…

Staff reporter The Jesuits at the Vatican Observatory were wowed like most people by the beauty of the photos from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, but the director said they also are excited by the scientific information the telescope will reveal. Human spirit “Such images are a necessary food for the human spirit – we…

New discipleship programme in Westmeath A new young adult faith formation programme is due to open at the Céilí Catholic community centre, Co. Westmeath, in September 2022. The residential programme of formation in Evangelisation and Missionary Discipleship is being offered to Catholic young adults, 18 years and over, who would spend nine months living in…

Parishioners will have to get used to laypeople leading burials and other funeral liturgies due to the shortage of priests under new plans unveiled by Bishop of Limerick Brendan Leahy. With few ordinations and an aging clergy, laypeople will become a key part of the jigsaw in providing ceremonies for grieving families Bishop Leahy told…