Bishop says Papal gesture seen as a way to reach-out   An Irish bishop has said a gesture by Pope Francis to marry a pair of flight attendants on board the Papal plane should cause the Church to consider whether the requirement to get married in a church building needs to be changed. Bishop of…

Fine Gael TD Kate O’Connell has rejected claims that parts of a controversial Dáil speech attacking the Church were drawn from an article that appeared on a US-based website last year. Speaking during a debate on abortion, calling for repeal of the Eighth Amendment, Ms O’Connell said: “Holy Catholic Ireland was a monstrous hoax. “When…

A small-town Australian priest could soon become a Hollywood hit now film rights to his new book have been bought by US film producers. Born in Malta in 1981, Fr Rob Galea is a curate in St Killian’s Parish, Bendigo, Victoria, but is known throughout Australia where he has appeared on X-Factor, released six albums,…

Women facing crisis pregnancies need compassion, but this does not give anyone the right to end another’s life, Fr Brian D’Arcy has said. Speaking on RTÉ’s Clare Byrne Show on Monday, Fr D’Arcy said: “I understand that we lose life, life doesn’t last forever, that mothers in difficulties have to make absolute choices, and I’ve…

A government move that could see publicly-funded Catholic counselling agencies closing has been described as “an attack on the independence of civil society”. Currently the Department of Children and Youth Affairs pays almost €1.6 million per year to Accord, the marriage and relationship counselling service run by the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference, via Tusla –…

Cranberries singer Dolores O’Riordan had a great interest in monasteries and loved to listen to monks chanting Vespers, it was said during her funeral homily. Fr Liam McNamara said that he first met the late musician in 1989 when she was playing a keyboard and singing with the choir of the Church of St Ailbe.…

Bishop Donal McKeown has said that experiencing narratives of victimhood and hopelessness during a recent trip to the Holy Land reminded him of ministering in Belfast during the civil conflict in the North. The Bishop of Derry was speaking on his return from the Holy Land where he was part of the annual ‘Holy Land…

“Bold steps” are needed before Ireland closes the gap between its climate change commitments and its performance, overseas development charity Trócaire said following the release of an embarrassing government memo. Supporting bills that encourage divestment from fossil fuels and the banning of their extraction will see Ireland move from “laggard to leader” according to the…

A leading theologian has rejected claims that Catholics are significantly over-represented among trainee primary teachers. The claim follows research from NUI Galway’s School of Education, which found that 90% of surveyed respondents who entered Irish primary teacher education programmes identified as Catholic, with just under half of these attending religious services at least once a…

Transition Year students of Le Chéile Secondary School, Dublin have been performing a tribute to the famous rock band Queen this week with a show entitled ‘We Will Rock You’. This is the first ever musical staged at the four-year-old Catholic secondary school set up by the Le Chéile Trust, which includes live performances of…