A veteran religious writer has applied for Irish citizenship after renouncing his UK citizenship this week in protest at Britain leaving the European Union (EU). Scotland born John Cooney holds the distinction of being the only journalist who has been the Religious Affairs Correspondent of the Irish Times and the Irish Independent. His books include…
St Kevin’s Church in Dublin celebrated the beginning of its life as an Oratory at the weekend, more than 160 years after St John Henry Newman wanted to found one in the capital. Archbishop Diarmuid Martin has given his approval on a trial basis which is expected to last for three years and celebrations marked…
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has opened a recruitment campaign this week which bids to increase its number of Catholic officers. The PSNI is looking for 600 trainees to reach full complement and address the under-representation of Catholics in the force. At present only 32% of the 6,848 police officers in Northern Ireland…
The Carmelite sisters in Loughrea, Co. Galway are set to leave the town after a presence of over 300 years. Like many other religious communities, the sisters have struggled to attract new vocations in recent years and the age prpfile of the sisters is older. As a result, their prayerful presence in the community will…
Plea for Catholics to put homeless, health crisis and youth at centre of vote With just over a week to the general election, Bishop of Elphin Kevin Doran has urged Catholics to reflect deeply before voting and urged them to think of the less well-off before casting their ballot. He also fired a shot across…
NBA basketball legend Kobe Bryant reportedly attended Mass just hours before his death in a tragic accident on Sunday, January 26. Mr Bryant, a devout Catholic, was killed along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven other passengers in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California. He was on his way to the Mamba Sports Academy…
Any person with no fixed address will have found it difficult to register to vote for the upcoming election, even though people who are homeless – or are in prison – can technically vote. In order to vote from prison, which has been legal in Ireland since 2006, a prisoner must apply to be included…
Singing priest Fr Ray Kelly lived to ‘dance’ another day after surviving another elimination on RTÉ1’s Dancing With The Stars. Fr Kelly performed the paso double to the theme from The Magnificent Seven movie with professional dance partner Kylee Vincent on Sunday, January 26. Yet despite posting the lowest score for the third week running,…
The new bishop of Achonry has said that the Church needs to prioritise ministry with young people. It was announced on Monday that Pope Francis has appointed Carlow-born Fr Paul Dempsey as the new Bishop of Achonry. Up to this point Fr Dempsey (48) has been Parish Priest of Newbridge in the Diocese of Kildare…
Tomi Reichental says his experience of the Holocaust was “hell on earth” and fears history may “repeat itself” with the migrant crisis and the rise of populist politics in Europe. The Irish-based 85-year-old survivor drew comparisons of Jews being taken to Nazi concentration camps to refugees being displaced around the continent. He said: “When we…