The Primate of All-Ireland has said he is hopeful that the Government will consider lifting a ban on public worship in place as a measure against Covid-19. Archbishop Eamon Martin was speaking after a meeting between members of the Irish bishops’ conference and Taoiseach Micheál Martin. The archbishop also pointed out the lack of evidence…
Knock Shrine is set to go online this November with a series of scheduled talks and vigils. The talks will be streamed on Knock Shrine’s website at 8.30pm every Wednesday evening in November and on the Knock Shrine Facebook page. They will be delivered by Fr Brian Grogan, SJ on the topic of life after…
The Government has indicated an unwillingness to relax the ban on public Masses after a meeting between Church leaders and Taoiseach Micheál Martin. However, both sides said that the important role of faith was acknowledged and that dialogue would continue. The move will disappoint many priests and parishioners who have been working hard to ensure…
Ruadhán Jones and Jason Osborne Bishops have warned that they “won’t be able to bring people with us” unless the Government heeds the calls of the faithful for a return of public worship. All public worship is banned under levels 3 to 5 – as it stands, following the six-week lockdown the country is expected…
CEIST, a Catholic patron body that includes Mercy and Presentation schools, are looking to provide “high-quality Catholic education” for two new schools in Meath and Wexford. The Department for Education are currently seeking patrons for schools in Gorey, Co. Wexford, and Dunshaughlin, Co. Meath, to be opened in 2022. The Department have asked parents to…
A priest whose homily went viral this week has asked the bishops to speak up about the restriction to public worship currently in place in Ireland. Fr Seán Mulligan of Carrickmacross Parish gave a homily last Sunday which unexpectedly went viral overnight in Catholic internet circles. In it, he criticised the extent to which the…
Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly has said he will challenge authorities to provide evidence that attendance at religious ceremonies is linked to the spread of coronavirus. It comes as data reveals that since the beginning of the pandemic there have been just six outbreaks of the virus connected with what the Government describes as ‘religious/other’…
Bishop Denis Brennan has said that the “continued existence of church closures” needs to be “revisited and amended” in his letter encouraging solidarity in the “age of coronavirus” for the month of November. The Bishop of Ferns asked that people do more than “what is simply right at present”, saying “Let us as Church go…
The Pope’s words on same-sex civil-unions aren’t a departure from Church teaching, a leading theologian has said. In a statement, Fr Eamonn Conway of Mary Immaculate College said: “The Church’s stance towards civil unions is a matter of prudential judgement and not one of dogma. “This recent statement by Pope Francis is not to be misunderstood…
Pro-life group Precious Life held a series of gatherings across Northern Ireland to mark one year since abortion was controversially decriminalised in the North. On October 21, 2019, Westminster’s Section 9 of the NI (Executive Formation) Act removed the laws that had protected unborn children in Northern Ireland. Department of Health (DoH) figures released at…
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