EXCLUSIVE   A Tipperary priest has called on the Taoiseach to apologise for his “offensive and derogatory” remarks which likened Micheál Martin to hypocritical priests. Speaking in the Dáil yesterday afternoon, Taoiseach Leo Varakar compared the opposition leader to “one of those parish priests who preaches from the altar, telling us to avoid sin while…

Families must allow and “support” their loved ones to become priests in light of a shortage in vocations, Ireland’s newest bishop has said. Bishop Fintan Gavin (53) made the call at his ordination over the weekend, which saw him take the reins of the Diocese of Cork and Ross. The diocese is particularly afflicted by…

Sources close to Conor Gannon, the former Rome-based Dublin seminarian falsely accused in 2018 of being kicked out of the Irish College in Rome for a sexual liason with another seminarian has said that Mr Gannon is “greatly relieved that he can now move on with his life”. Claim In recent days Mr Gannon received…

The announcement that Blessed John Henry Newman, the 19th-Century founder of UCD, will be canonised on October 13 has been hailed as “wondrous news” by the director of the Notre Dame-Newman Centre for Faith and Reason. Speaking to The Irish Catholic, Fr Bill Dailey CSC said: “It’s wondrous news for everyone associated with Newman University…

Jean Vanier challenged Catholics to examine what the Church should be like, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin has said. Speaking at a celebration of the L’Arche founder’s life at the Riasc Centre in Swords, Co. Dublin, the archbishop of Dublin praised the late humanitarian’s understanding of the Beatitudes as rooted in “a deep and thoughtful insight into…

High profile anti-vaccination advocates have hit out at this newspaper after it reported a story stating that priests and theologians said “parents are morally obliged to vaccinate their children”. Most outrage stemmed from the fact that some vaccines were developed from cell lines descending from aborted foetal tissue Irish journalist Gemma O’Doherty wrote on Twitter:…

Google has admitted that it “blacklisted” a significant number of videos on YouTube ahead of last year’s abortion referendum, and interfered with search results. This newspaper was also directly affected by the interference. Voters who searched for certain terms had the results of their searches manually altered by Google, ensuring that videos chosen by the…

Encouraging lay leadership will be a key task for tomorrow’s clergy, Bishop Larry Duffy has said. Speaking at the ordination of Fr Kevin Connolly in St Macartan’s Cathedral, Monaghan, Bishop Duffy said that as a priest Fr Connolly would be called to spend time with Jesus, pondering his life and message and celebrating his presence…

In a world that is becoming ever “busier”, books provide a gateway to evangelisation, Ossory’s Bishop Dermot Farrell has said. His comments come after he was appointed as chair of Ireland’s leading religious publisher and retailer Veritas. “It is good to be working [with] everyone at Veritas who for the past 120 years have been,…

Under persistent heavy rain and a grey overcast sky, the annual Corpus Christi Procession assembled after the 2.00pm Polish Mass, at St Conleth’s Parish Church, Kildare, to make its way down to St Eustace’s Dominican Grounds for Solemn open-air Benediction. Nothing deterred the enthusiastic participation of the congregation. Under an exquisitely embroidered antique canopy provided…