Christian Church leaders from across the island of Ireland have called for renewed efforts to strengthen relationships between the UK and Ireland as negotiations reach a critical stage. The leaders’ warned that “with limited time remaining to prepare for the outworking of Brexit, it is in everyone’s interests to achieve the clarity and security an…
Some 5,000 students of Spiritan schools in Ireland and their teachers answered the virtual call to prayer on Friday October 2, Feast Day of the Spiritan founder, Claude Poullart des Places. Each classroom across the Spiritan education community created a 15-minute prayer space in its schedule. The online event, led by Fr Paddy Moran CSSp of the Spiritan leadership…
The Bishop of Cloyne has said that to introduce a bill that would allow for assisted suicide during the middle of a pandemic is a “contradiction of an enormous magnitude”. Bishop William Crean criticised the introduction of the ‘Dying with Dignity Bill’, dubbing it “disingenuous and unnecessary”. In his Homily for the Church’s ‘Day for…
Radical legislation that would make it legal to end the lives of vulnerable patients has passed the first stage in the Oireachtas by 81 votes 71. It was debated for just 70 minutes, with TDs opposed to the move only permitted four minutes of speaking time. Politicians backed the move to send the plan to…
Church leaders have urged parishioners not to lose heart in the face of further Covid-19 restrictions and insisted that they will work to impress upon the civil authorities the vital importance of public Masses. In a statement this evening (Wednesday) following their virtual quarterly plenary meeting, the bishops’ conference said that while they “fully support…
People who think politics is sinking to new lows may find comfort in knowing Pope Francis also is concerned about the debasement of what church teaching has described as a “lofty vocation.” “Political life no longer has to do with healthy debates about long-term plans to improve people’s lives and to advance the common good,…
EXCLUSIVE Chai Brady, Jason Osborne and Ruadhán Jones Three times as many priests have died in Ireland at the height of the coronavirus pandemic compared to the same period over the last three years, The Irish Catholic can reveal. The figures were most stark when comparing April to previous years, with 36 deaths this year…
Longford-based dairy farmer Mike Magan [pictured] has made an appeal to his fellow farmers to get a “plane load of whole milk powder” for those suffering in Yemen. While watching an RTÉ feature on the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Yemen, Mr Magan was struck by the image of a father feeding his starving child with…
Two well-known religious centres in Dublin, the Emmaus Centre in Swords and St Peregrine’s oratory in Rathfarnham shopping centre, have been “forced to close” due to the effects of lockdown. The Emmaus Centre, run by the Christian Brothers, provided facilities for human, spiritual and religious development for over 40 years to school children, religious and…
A priest famous for his humanitarian work, particularly with victims of childhood sexual abuse, Fr Shay Cullen of the Preda Foundation has criticised one of Netflix’s latest offering Cuties, describing it as “playing into the whole paedophilia-sex industry”. The film follows a group of 11-year-old girls as they take to ‘twerking’ – a dance form…
Michael Kelly
Ruadhán Jones