WMOF 2018 Pope Francis has said he is “excited” to return to Ireland, and indicated it may be an opportunity for Catholics and Protestants across the island to reach out to one another. Speaking specifically to the “Irish family” in a August 21 video message ahead of the World Meeting of Families, Francis said:…
Category: Irish News
Pope can ‘hold a mirror’ to ask deeper questions
WMOF 2018 Bishop Donal McKeown has expressed his hope that Pope Francis will help Ireland wrestle with difficult questions facing both Church and State. Speaking to a packed St Eugene’s Cathedral in Derry for the diocesan opening ceremony for WMOF, he said it is always better to be unhappy with the right questions than…
The family must always be missionary – Archbishop Martin
WMOF 2018 Tens of thousands of pilgrims from all over Ireland have gathered in cathedrals across the country for simaltenous opening ceremonies for the World Meeting of Families. In Dublin, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin presided at evening prayer in the RDS – the main site of WMOF which is expected to attract some 37,000 pilgrims…
Pope begs forgiveness of abuse survivors
Ahead of his historic trip to Ireland, Pope Francis has begged forgiveness of victims of abuse and acknowledged a widespread culture of cover-up in the Church. Writing in an unprecedented ‘letter to the People of God’ released by the Vatican this morning, Pope Francis says that the Church “showed no care for the little ones;…
Biblical names for boys remain a popular choice
Despite being written thousands of years ago, it seems that Irish people still have a penchant for names found in the Bible, as over half of the top 10 names given to Irish new-born boys are found in the Scriptures, according to a new survey. Although there are countless names to choose from, research from…
‘No surprise’ that Travellers are forced to sleep in Garda stations – priest
Reports that more than one in five families referred to Gardaí when overnight accommodation is unavailable are Travellers are unsurprising, a priest who works as chaplain to the Traveller community has said. “It does not surprise me,” Mallow’s Fr Tom Naughton told The Irish Catholic, continuing, “it has always been an outstanding issue in my…
NI pro-lifers ‘squeezed’ by Westminister and RoI on abortion
Some Northern Irish Catholics are “upset” and “disappointed” that two pro-choice Government ministers from the Republic were given a platform to push for liberalised abortion laws at a prominent Catholic teaching college. According to Tracy Harkin of the Iona Institute it was inappropriate to allow two politicians who have been “actively vocal against Church teaching”…
WMOF urges pilgrims to ‘leave no trace’ in Europe’s biggest event of 2018
The papal Mass on August 26, which 500,000 people are expected to attend, will be the biggest event in Europe this year according to organisers. With such a huge influx of people, WMOF2018 has released a new animated video called ‘Leave no trace’ which aims to encourage pilgrims to reduce their environmental footprint during the…
Peacekeeping chief to speak at WMOF women’s forum
The World Meeting of Families 2018 has announced that a symposium dedicated to the global impact of women’s leadership will be held on Saturday, August 25 as part of its international gathering of families from August 21-26. ‘Voices of Impact: Women Leaders Shaping Global Change’, will be chaired by Irish broadcaster and entrepreneur Norah Casey…
Singer rested on God during trials
Musical icon Sir Cliff Richard has said that his Faith supported him during his battle with sexual assault allegations which were made in 2013. In a radio interview with Miriam O’Callaghan on RTÉ Radio One last week, the famous singer described how his Faith got him through the trial. “My Faith, my fans, friends, my…