Dramatic changes to Mass times in Clogher diocese are already starting to pay dividends in terms of worshippers’ experience, diocesan administrator Msgr Joseph McGuinness has said. Noting that the changes, rolled out across the diocese earlier this month in response to declining numbers of clergy have been generally well received, Msgr McGuinness said it is…
There are hopes the Synod of Bishops will give fresh impetus to resource youth ministry and mirror international youth movements, according to Church youth workers. Following a meeting with Archbishop Eamon Martin and Bishop Donal McKeown in the Vatican, 11 youth ministers discussed the progress of the synod on youth. “One of the big things…
A new poll has revealed 93% of people in the North of Ireland believe both the life of the mother and the unborn child are important. The polling, conducted by ComRes, comes as a bankbench bill aimed to introduce abortion legislation in the North was read in the House of Commons this week. Diana Johnson…
Governmental advisers did not believe Pope Francis had been fully briefed on key hot-button issues ahead of his trip to Ireland, it has been revealed. Documents received by the Sunday Independent have shown that while crafting her brief message to the Pope about the Tuam Mother and Babies home, Children’s Minister Katherine Zappone was advised…
A Christian creation care organisation is setting up Northern Ireland’s first community-owned farm to promote the importance of environmental stewardship. Established last year, Jubilee is a cooperative enterprise to practice and promote care farming, community-supported agriculture as well as conservation education and engagement in a manner which inspires change within local churches and communities to…
Parish communities in Bray have offered their support for a young boy and mother who are facing imminent deportation to China. Parishioners in Co. Wicklow have said that nine-year-old Eric Zhi Ying Xue, who hit news headlines earlier this week, should not be deported to China. Although Eric was born in Ireland he is not…
DUP members of the Stormont Assembly have been accused of mocking a fellow party member for attending the civic reception for Pope Francis in Dublin Castle. A senior member of the party criticised Lagan Valley MLA Robbie Butler for attending the August 25 event, referring to the Pope as “the Antichrist”, while another MLA mockingly…
Irish missionaries who supported St Oscar Romero during his time as Archbishop of San Salvador have welcomed the martyred bishop’s canonisation, feeling their constant support for him has been vindicated. “The feeling among the people is of quiet pride and satisfaction,” Fr Ciaran Ó Nuanain told The Irish Catholic. “The minority of us who supported…
The UK’s highest court has ruled that a Northern Ireland bakery’s refusal to make a cake with a message supporting same-sex marriage was not discriminatory. The Supreme Court found on October 10 that the Christian owners of Ashers bakery did not discriminate against a customer and did not refuse to bake the cake because of…
Documents released by the State’s ethics watchdog have shown that a group that campaigned for reduced religious influence in Church-owned schools was a campaigning organisation that received funds far in excess of amounts permitted for such groups. A complaint submitted to the Standards in Public Office Commission (SIPO) about Equate: Equality in Education, days ahead…
Chai Brady
Greg Daly