Belfast republicans argue for pro-life stance A talk entitled ‘Cherish All Children Equally’ taking place in Belfast will put to the audience that there is an onus on Republicans to take a pro-life stance. Prominent republicans, Dr Anne McCloskey and Monica Digney will argue the Proclamation’s commitment to “cherish all the children of the nation…

The Church should do more to make known the Christian tradition of mindfulness, a leading advocate of the discipline has said. “What’s really needed is a renaissance of Christian contemporary publishing,” Bro. Richard Hendrick OFM Cap told The Irish Catholic.  “That means repackaging, new translations, etc. of the great classics with good introductions that enable…

Complaints made against pro-life billboards have been rejected by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) after the billboards were found to be accurate. Pro-life campaigners, Both Lives Matter (BLM), displayed two billboards claiming that ‘100,000 people are alive today because of our laws on abortion’ in Northern Ireland. There were 14 complaints made about the claim,…

An American writer-artist duo are seeking to raise $7,500 (€6,350) to complete production of a comic book about Skellig Michael. The Last Monks of Skellig Michael by Philip Kosloski and Michael Lavoy, with help from veteran comic artist Jim Fern, tells the story of an adventurous boy who leaves a monastic school on the mainland…

Grandparents are responsible for passing on faith values that will enable children to cope with sources that are “hostile to faith and spiritual values”. Archbishop Michael Neary spoke at a special mass organised by the Grandparents Association last week on the feast day of Sts Joachim and Anne in Tuam, Galway. “We have a responsibility…

Over a thousand young people are expected to attend a Catholic youth festival in Roscrea later this month, conference organisers say. The summer festival at Cistercian College will be a weekend of faith, fun and friendship, according to Youth 2000’s Brian O’Driscoll, who told The Irish Catholic: “The weekend offers a fantastic weekend of faith…

Clergy at Portlaoise parish were “amazed” as over €16,000 was raised for Trócaire’s emergency East Africa appeal – five times more than they would receive in a normal week. The parish usually get €3,000 each week from their offertory collection, but this was far surpassed by the collection held late last month. Msgr John Byrne…

EXCLUSIVE A ‘hard border’ across Ireland is “unthinkable” and could be devastating for the North, Bishop of Down and Connor Noel Treanor has warned. “A hard border is really inconceivable and no longer viable and would be detrimental in so many different levels and arenas of life,” Dr Treanor told The Irish Catholic, highlighting the needs…

Bishop Denis Nulty has described the first ever diocesan pilgrimage to Lourdes from Kildare and Leighlin as a “huge experience” after 1,300 people from every parish in the diocese visited the French Marian shrine. Describing how he “enjoyed every bit” of the pilgrimage, Dr Nulty had nothing but praise for the “vast crowd” that had…

Pop superstar Justin Bieber has reportedly cut short his world tour in a bid to re-connect with the deep Christian faith of his childhood. The Canadian singer unexpectedly cut short his ‘Purpose’ tour due to what his management said was “unforeseen circumstances”. Media report that Bieber told friends he felt burnt out. However, music industry…