Irish missionaries who have returned from abroad are rejuvenating the Church here by bringing new life and skills learnt in countries where the Faith is more vibrant, Archbishop Kieran O’Reilly has said. He said that Irish parishes and communities can learn a lot from the “wisdom” of missionaries who have worked where the Church is…

Senator Rónán Mullen has challenged the Government over what he has said is its failure to properly address the Chinese abuses of its Uyghur Muslim population. His motion condemning the persecution of the Uyghurs passed in the Seanad without opposition from the Government. Speaking to The Irish Catholic, Senator Mullen said about motion, “It’s historic…

Italian teenager Carlo Acutis is “a model of evangelisation and discipleship in the 21st Century”, according to Sacred Heart Missionary Fr Alan Neville. Potentially the first saint with a website and to wear Nikes, Blessed Acutis was beatified by Pope Francis last weekend in Assisi. Fr Neville, formerly the vocation director for the MSC said…

New recommendations to remove Catholic symbols from state run secondary schools will impose “a secular understanding of religion on the school”, says Fr Eamonn Conway. According to The Irish Times, an unpublished document recommends phasing out Catholic symbols, compulsory graduation Masses and diocesan inspectors of religious teaching. Commenting on the report, Fr Conway said that…

Aontú representative Becky Kealy delivered a letter of support to the bishops of Cork and Ross, and Cloyne, saying that “young people want Mass back”. Ms Kealy said she delivered the letter after a group of young, practising Catholics contacted her to ask if she would submit a letter on their behalf. “They wanted to…

Chai Brady and 
Ruadhán Jones
 The Church should draw up guidelines for interfaith events with the Muslim community to avoid “ambiguous and potentially misleading situations” according to an expert in interreligious dialogue. Fr Michael O’Sullivan M.Afr., who is the current director of World Missions Ireland and has spent decades on the Middle East, said an…

The publication of Ireland’s new draft climate bill has been cautiously welcomed but with “quite serious reservations” from leading Church voices. The draft text of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2020 was published last week, which aims to impose emission limits on sectors. It sets a course for Ireland to become…

Approaching her 107th birthday, Nancy Stewart insists “a lot of prayers” will get us through the pandemic. “I’ve all my beads are worn,” she laughs as she speaks to The Irish Catholic, “from praying. It keeps me happy.” Staying close to God is all we can do as the pandemic and its ensuing restrictions continue…

Fr McVerry called for the important role chaplains’ play in prisons to be recognised after the chaplain of the Dóchas women’s prison left due to a “toxic environment”. Fr McVerry wrote in a recent article that “prison chaplains are unique, in that they have no agenda other than the welfare of prisoners and prison officers…thus,…