A new diocesan administrator, Fr Tom Healy, has been appointed for the Diocese of Ardagh and Clonmacnois following Archbishop Francis Duffy’s installation as the new Archbishop of Tuam. Fr Healy PP of Edgeworthstown in Co. Longford will administer the day-to-day affairs of Ardagh and Clonmacnois until a new bishop is appointed. He will continue in…
The murder of Ashling Murphy in Tullamore is “incomprehensible and tragic”, her former Religious Education teacher has said. Fr Michael Wall, chaplain in Mary Immaculate College in Limerick, where Ms Murphy studied to become a teacher, told The Irish Catholic she was an “excellent student” and “a great musician”. “She was teaching music at home.…
One of Ireland’s most-senior prelates has insisted that the planned synod gathering on the future of Catholicism must be open to all voices if it is to bring meaningful reform to the Church here. Archbishop Francis Duffy warned that the process would only be worthwhile if Church leaders can reach out to those who are…
Staff reporter The HSE-run pregnancy helpline My Options is “leading vulnerable women toward abortion”, a study from Students for Life has shown. Katie Fenton of Students for Life warned the helpline is “failing women in crisis pregnancies” by not offering continued-pregnancy practical support. Students for Life investigated how My Options counsellors interact with callers between…
Staff reporter For the first time in almost two years, The Irish Catholic Christian Solidarity Pilgrimage to the Holy Land will go ahead next month. The February 16-24 trip looked uncertain due to Covid-19 concerns. However, Israeli authorities announced that the borders of the Holy Land would reopen to pilgrims in time to facilitate the…
Priests of the Kilmore Diocese have told The Irish Catholic they feel left in the dark after being told by the diocesan administrator that they should not speak about Bishop Martin Hayes’ leave of absence. The bishop wrote to the clergy in early December saying that he was taking a number of weeks leave on…
A “very real demographic winter” stands behind the Pope’s recent controversial comments on pets, prominent economist Ray Kinsella has said. The Pope provoked an outraged reaction last week when he criticised the replacement of children with dogs and cats in many couples’ lives. “The other day, I was talking about the demographic winter that we…
Staff reporter Dublin’s Filipino community continues to celebrate devotion to Santo Niño de Cebú this week in St Joseph’s Church on Berkeley Road in Dublin. The devotion revolves around an image of the Christ Child widely venerated as miraculous by Filipino Catholics. The image itself is the oldest Christian artifact in the Philippines, originally a…
Debates around keeping schools open during Covid should focus on “the activity of education”, said a diocesan Catholic schools’ representative. Given the difficulty in teacher supply, “the structured plan to actually deliver education” must be considered, said Alan Hynes of St Senan’s Education Office, which assists schools in the Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly and…
Kansas State University footballer Landry Weber recently turned heads when he announced that he’ll be going “pro” in a different direction: he’s planning on entering the seminary and being ordained a priest following his college days. “‘He’ll be entering the priesthood when his college career is finished’ said announcer Tom Hart on Kansas State wide…
Chai Brady
Ruadhán Jones