After an Irish nun’s admission she was spat at by a member of the public last month there’s been an overwhelmingly positive, and supportive response. The nun, who is a former principle of a Catholic school in Dublin, lamented that many people’s attitude towards nuns drastically changed in Ireland after the “horrible” abuse scandals. Her…

The publishing wing of the Church in Ireland – has returned to profitability after some turbulent years, according to latest figures filed with the Companies Registration Office. Veritas, the Irish bishops’ publishing arm, has been struggling for years, battling with an uncertain retail climate, but 2016 saw the company making a small net profit of…

Some 10,000 families – the vast majority of them believed to be Catholic – have been intimidated from their homes in the North since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, according to new figures. However, the figures – compiled by the Belfast-based investigative website Detail Data – may be much higher since many incidents…

Almost 300 families have been helped out of homelessness this year by Focus Ireland, the charity has said at the launch of its annual Christmas Appeal. Highlighting how over 3,000 children are homeless nationwide, the charity said that while Ireland’s homeless crisis continues to worsen, with a record total of 8374 people now homeless, things…

Using public funds to pay private landlords to house homeless people is not sustainable due to the increasing cost and lack of housing according to Fr Peter McVerry. In the Peter McVerry Trust’s Annual Report 2016 the accommodation team stated that throughout 2016 there was a need to secure “exceptional payments” above the rent supplement…

A huge proportion of young people leaving State care are becoming homeless as social workers scramble to find accommodation, according to several Irish charities. The Department of Youth Affairs offers an aftercare service which aims to offer guidance and practical supports with regards to education, financial support, social network support and training for young people…

New In Brief The young pupils of a Limerick school surprised a grateful priest by reuniting him with his All-Ireland winning medals. The Confirmation class of Caherline National School were asked to choose an act of kindness, and decided to help Fr Par Currivan after he mentioned he had lost the medals from the menor…

News In Brief The North’s pro-life laws should be supported, a leading member of the SDLP has said. Noting how almost nine million children have been aborted in Britain since the passage of the 1967 Abortion Act, Alban Maginness, Belfast North MLA from 1998 to 2016, wrote in The Belfast Telegraph that over 100,000 babies…

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 unborn The Seven Joys of Our Lady Secular Franciscan Fraternity (Clonoe/Coalisland) have organised a prayer campaign up to Christmas at least, in view of an expected abortion referendum in the Republic of Ireland. Each member of the fraternity has undertaken to recite a daily Rosary for life and is inviting as many people as possible…

Mission has come ‘full circle’   An influx of new religious communities has been hailed as offering new life to the Irish Church, and bringing Ireland’s missionary heritage back home. Over the past year at least four groups of religious women have set up in Ireland from abroad, the most recent being a community of…