It was a busy weekend on the Reek, Fr Charlie McDonnell of Westport Parish said, as Masses and Confessions were available for pilgrims for the first time in two years. Fr McDonnell said it was “heartening” to be able to provide religious facilities for people doing the pilgrimage. “Normally we’d only have one day to…
The numbers of women from the North choosing to terminate their pregnancies has dramatically increased since the procedure was made legal last year. As of June 11, the Department of Health had received 1,624 notifications of abortions, despite the lack of a full and formal commissioning of the procedure in the region. A further 371…
Across Ireland there were up to 55 local ‘Rallies for Life’ on July 3, in which pro-lifers urged the public and TDs to rethink abortion legislation in view of the impact of abortion. The local rallies took place in lieu of the national pro-life march due to the pandemic. Organisers have said that the events are important…
In their annual reports, chaplains in Ireland’s 12 prisons have called for new recruitments, as services are squeezed due to the “intense needs” and the often “challenging” nature of the work. While the appointment of a head prison chaplain has been a “great boost”, the 2020 chaplains’ reports highlighted ratios as high as one chaplain…
The bodies of at least 27 children from mother and baby homes, workhouses and hospitals were donated to Queen’s University Belfast for medical research, a children’s rights campaigner has found. The Times reported that the information was compiled using the Freedom of Information Act by Eunan Duffy, an adoptee from a Newry mother and baby…
Pope Francis continued to have a “satisfactory” recovery from colon surgery, and by today (Wednesday) doctors had removed his intravenous drip, the Vatican press office said. After undergoing the surgery late on Sunday at Rome’s Gemelli hospital, “the post-operative progress of His Holiness Pope Francis continues to be regular and satisfactory,” the Holy See communique…
Bishop Tom Deenihan has said he is “troubled” that the Government has intervened to cancel First Holy Communion and Confirmation ceremonies, despite assurance from State officials that places of worship are safe. He also said that parents who are disappointed by the move should make their feelings known to politicians. The Bishop of Meath was…
As parishes transfer more schools to non-religious patrons, the law must be changed to allow remaining schools to be unapologetically Catholic. Bishop Tom Deenihan told The Irish Catholic there is a need for the Government to remove a controversial law on school admissions that risks preventing Catholic schools from catering for the needs of those…
The Department of Health’s annual report on abortion statistics shows that of the 6,577 abortions carried out in 2020, just 122 were carried out in situations where the life of the child or mother was in danger. A further 194 women travelled to the UK to for an abortion in 2020, which brings the figure…
A recently published de-classified US intelligence report revealed that dozens of mysterious unidentified flying object (UFO) sightings could not be explained and did not rule out the possibility of alien spacecraft. So if there is alien life, could this be a difficulty for Catholics? Not so says Fr Brendan Purcell, an Irish professor of philosophy…
Ruadhán Jones
Michael Kelly
Chai Brady