In Short An Australian native pronounced his first solemn vows as a Benedictine monk in Meath, and was reminded during the homily why he left his native home to become a monk. Dom Mark Kirby OSM, Conventual Prior, asked Bro. Cassian Maria Aylward: “Why did you leave your father and your mother, and your…
Irish people should watch out for migrants being exploited in our communities, and should guard against being “insular”. Responding to Pope Francis’ World Message of Peace and his address to diplomats connected with the Vatican this week, Bishop Denis Brennan of Ferns said Irish people know too well the realities of migrating for a better…
Saoirse Ronan’s Golden Globe triumph is for a film about “a strange and surprising breakthrough of grace”, according to a prominent Los Angeles-based bishop. The 23-year-old Irish actress won her first Golden Globe award on Sunday for her performance as the title character Christine ‘Lady Bird’ McPherson in the film Lady Bird. She had previously…
Sign of peace up to bishops Removing the sign of peace due to flu outbreak will not be rolled out across Ireland’s dioceses. “There is not a collective position on this – it is a matter for each individual diocese,” Martin Long, spokesman for the Bishops’ Conference, told The Irish Catholic. The HSE has…
The Christmas holidays weren’t just a time for family, friends and recreation for one group of Irish people who spent the week after St Stephen’s day 7,000 kilometres from home, building a dairy in Burkino Faso. Flying out on December 27 and not returning to Ireland until January 6, Cavan optician Paul Connolly and seven…
Christians need to work towards generating a “new narrative”, as the power-sharing talks resume in Northern Ireland, Bishop Noel Treanor has said. Inspired by Pope Francis’ World Day of Peace message in which he spoke of a “contemplative gaze”, the bishop of Down and Connor said there was a connection between contemplation and responsible politics.…
Catholics and people of goodwill should be “missionaries for the cause of life”, Armagh’s Archbishop Eamon Martin has said in a new year pastoral message that has been seen as the Church’s first major intervention ahead of next year’s expected referendum on abortion. “To serve human life is to serve God,” he said, quoting Pope…
Becoming a bishop in modern Ireland is a great step into the unknown, the incoming Bishop of Ossory has said. Speaking on Kilkenny’s St Mary’s Cathedral on the announcement of his episcopal appointment, Bishop Elect Dermot Farrell said he will have much to learn in the years ahead, and that being called to be a…
Jesuits’ deaths ‘shock’ to Dublin school One of Dublin’s most prestigious schools has expressed its “deep shock” after the deaths of two long-serving staff members on the same day. Staff and students at Gonzaga College were informed on Monday of the deaths of Fr Joe Brennan SJ and Fr Kennedy O’Brien. “As you can imagine, the college community is in…
2017 was a bonanza year for Irish-based Mass streaming service Church Service TV (CSTV), with the number of parishes using the service increasing by 30%. The Bray, Co. Wicklow-based service live-streamed 59,888 scheduled events from 108 different locations over 2017, reaching some 15 million viewers from 205 countries over the course of the year. CSTV’s…
Chai Brady
Greg Daly
Susan Gately