Social media companies should take their civic responsibilities seriously and not wait for the Government, communities or schools to react to online safety concerns, the Catholic Primary School Management Association (CPSMA) has said. Minister for Communications Richard Bruton announced plans for new internet safety laws this week. They include the appointment of an Online Safety…
Bible names for boys have once again topped the list of the most popular baby names registered last year. Jack (the diminutive of John) and James came first and second respectively in the list for both 2017 and 2018 according to CSO statistics. Out of the top 10 there were seven biblical names in total,…
The Church must find ways to help young people share the Christian message, Archbishop Eamon Martin of Armagh has said. Speaking to around 8,500 young people at the Flame 2019 conference in London, the Primate of All-Ireland described how in Rome last year at the synod on young people he admitted that he finds it…
Parents shouldn’t be relying on loan-sharks to curb the “crazy” costs of Communion celebrations, a spokesperson for a well-known family support centre has said. Valerie O’Carroll, manager of Ballymun Child and Family Resource Centre in Dublin, said it’s “absolutely crazy” the amount of money being spent on Communion celebrations, noting that the Sacrament has transformed…
An investigation into alleged serious sectarian activity in a Belfast hospital “harks back to the past” and “can’t be tolerated” a Fermanagh-based priest has said. This comes as a covert probe into sectarianism instigated by NHS bosses relating to events in Belfast City Hospital has come to light. It was launched after allegations of harassment…
Raphoe’s Bishop Alan McGuckian has expressed sorrow on behalf of the diocese for the abuse of children by the late Eugene Greene. The onetime priest of the diocese, whose death in Cork last November was announced yesterday, pleaded guilty in 1999 to 40 counts of sexual assaults of children between 1965 and 1982. Sentenced to…
A leading homeless charity has opened its newest social housing development partly funded by people donating their Irish Water refunds to charity. The social housing opened yesterday (February 28) in Ravenswood, Fingal, Co. Dublin. The scheme is the charity’s first green-field development and consists of eight one-bedroom homes with a small community building. It’s designed…
€8m a year spent helping grieving relatives Rising funeral costs are forcing some families to face the heartache of choosing to bury relatives long distances from their loved ones, The Irish Catholic can reveal. This newspaper has also obtained figures which show that more and more people are also being forced to rely on government handouts…
As a decisive move towards a unified approach to the cancer of abuse, Rome’s unprecedented summit is a step forward, but the proof will be in the detail, writes Michael Kelly In his closing remarks to the summit on the protection of minors at the weekend, Pope Francis summoned the bishops and religious superiors…
Junno Arocho Esteves If they are truly serious about fighting clerical sex abuse, bishops must join forces with journalists and not view them as enemies plotting against the Catholic Church, Mexican journalist Valentina Alazraki said. Ms Alazraki, who has covered the Vatican for over four decades, told bishops at the Vatican summit on abuse that journalists…
Chai Brady
Colm Fitzpatrick
Michael Kelly