Pope Francis’ decision to allow priests to lead formal parish pilgrimages to Medjugorje, where Mary has allegedly been appearing since 1981, has been enthusiastically welcomed by leading Irish promoters of the pilgrimage site. Over two years after Archbishop Henryk Hoser of Warszawa-Praga was named as the Pope’s special envoy to the Bosnia-Herzegovinan shrine, tasked with…
Facebook’s decision to censor an image of a baby in utero is “totally unjustifiable” according to a Christian advocacy group. The Iona Institute criticised the social media giant for placing a “warning screen” over their paid advertisement which depicts an unborn baby at 11 weeks gestation. Beside the foetus are the words ‘still one of…
The community of an Oblate priest who was killed in a hit-and-run in Roscommon over the weekend are “devastated” at the loss. The retired but “very active” Fr Michael Guckian OMI (81) was hit by a car at 11pm on Saturday while walking back to his vehicle on a country road. He lived with the…
The PLC can help Catholics find and support pro-life candidates, writes Eilís Mulroy All of the main political parties and indeed all of those at the national political level pay detailed and close attention to the local elections. The reason they do so is because they provide a significant window of opportunity in which…
Fine Gael is out of step with the Christian Democrat parties with which it shares a platform in the European Parliament, according to a former senator who lost the party whip in 2013 when she voted against the legalisation of abortion. “I just think that they’ve lost all sight of principle. That doesn’t seem to…
Ireland’s very own ‘Rosary priest’ has died, aged 97. Fr Gabriel Harty OP, the senior member of Ireland’s Dominican province, passed away on Thursday in Drogheda’s Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital. Known as ‘the Rosary Priest of Ireland’, Fr Harty was known for his decades of promoting the Rosary through preaching, missions and publication of…
There has been a mixed reaction in Ireland to norms published by Pope Francis to tackle abuse and cover-up in the Church. Archbishop Eamon Martin has hailed Vos Estis Lux Mundi (‘You are the Light of the World’), the Pope’s apostolic letter on safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults as “a significant move for the…
A group which represents more than 1,000 Irish priests has said Pope Francis’ comments about the status of women deacons is a “major disappointment”. The reaction comes after the Pope revealed that the 2016 commission he appointed to study women deacons in the early Church could not reach a consensus on whether female ordination was…
CCTV cameras are helping to reduce crime in churches and are improving parishioners’ safety, a priest has said. Fr Declan Hurley of Navan’s St Mary’s parish told this newspaper that the church’s security camera system increases the chances of criminals being identified, creating a safer environment for worship. “We have the constant passage of people…
There is an “urgent” need for extra Catholic school places in south Belfast to cater for demand, according to a report. The research commissioned by the Integrated Education Fund (IEF) found that six of the 14 primary schools in the Castlereagh/Carryduff area are at, or almost at, capacity. This includes three Catholic and three integrated…
Greg Daly
Chai Brady
Colm Fitzpatrick