The bishop of the Diocese of Elphin has criticised adults who facilitate underage drinking by giving or selling it to young people. Bishop Kevin Doran mentioned that a number of young people were drinking at a summer festival in Sligo over the weekend on the diocese’s Facebook page. He said: “The streets were full of…

Over 1,000 young people will descend on Kildare this weekend to celebrate one of Ireland’s biggest faith festivals. The Youth 2000 Summer festival – taking place in Clongowes Wood College from August 18-22 – will see young people gather to celebrate their Faith in a fun and vibrant way. “It’s the biggest, most exciting youth…

TV star Dog the Bounty Hunter has urged a thief who burglarised his deceased wife’s store to come forward, stressing his actions were unbiblical. Duane ‘Dog’ Chapman said he is willing to forgive the robber if they hand themselves in. His wife, Beth Chapman, last month died after a battle with cancer. Speaking at a…

Irish Catholics should anticipate more attacks on their local churches, a Tipperary-based priest has warned after Nazi swastikas were painted on his Catholic oratory. The warning comes on foot of three attacks on churches in the midlands as well as numerous other recent attacks on religious buildings and statues. Fr Michael Toomey told this newspaper…

Trócaire has dubbed parishes the “life-blood” of the charity after their annual report shows one of the strongest Christmas campaigns in their history. In their report for 2018/2019 the Church-charity raised €2.3 million during its Christmas appeal, a 10% increase on 2017. This was used to assist families affected by conflict in countries such as…

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   Regular church attendance leads to better mental health because religion gives people “hope, meaning and perspective”, according to one of the country’s leading psychiatrists. Prof. Patricia Casey was reacting to a major new Irish study which looks at people aged 50 or older and finds that those who attend…

With almost a dozen Dominican sisters leaving the Muckross Park convent in Dublin this week the local parish administrator has said it is a “loss to the community”. Multitudes of tributes have been paid to the sisters after the main convent building in Donnybrook closed in a decision made last year on foot of a…

An Irish academic’s call for children to be taught the ‘positive’ aspects of porn has been described as “inherently exploitative”. Writing on the RTÉ.ie website, porn researcher Kate Dawson said, “there is a real need for youth to be equipped with information about pornography and be supported in developing skills necessary to critique sexual representations…

The discovery of an ancient monastic site just outside Drogheda is “significant” as it offers an insight into how religious lived at the time. Dom Richard Purcell, abbot of Mount Melleray Abbey, told this newspaper that the 13th–Century Cistercian settlement which is currently under excavation in Meath’s Beamore “tells us more about the life of…

Famous singer Katy Perry has been ordered to pay a Christian rapper thousands after a judge ruled that she copied elements of his song. Gospel artist Flame – real name Marcus Gray – sued the 34-year-old popstar after he successfully showed the court that her 2013 hit ‘Dark Horse’ was based on his song ‘Joyful…