One of Ireland’s first permanent deacons has been appointed to run the new National Vocations Office, which officially opens on July 1. Rev. Eric Cooney, who was ordained to the permanent diaconate for the Archdiocese of Dublin in 2012, will act as administrator of the new office. The office, which will be based in Maynooth’s…

The Redemptorist Order has revealed that as well as attracting huge numbers to their churches, their annual novenas are now drawing thousands of viewers to watch the services online. Fr Noel Kehoe, rector of Clonard Monastery in Belfast, said that on average 14,000 people had watched this year’s novena on the web – the highest…

Global Rosary Relay for Priests is striving to set a new record of global participation this week. 10 million are estimated to join in prayer for the Rosary Relay this year, according to Worldpriest. As midnight comes on June 23, the Feast of the Sacred Heart, the relay will begin in a new shrine in…

The Dalai Lama will be returning to the city of Derry on September 10, in order to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the charity, Children in Crossfire. The Dalai Lama, a dedicated patron of Children in Crossfire, will be guest of honour at a public talk entitled ‘Compassion in Action’, which will aim to encourage…

The public is split almost exactly 50/50 on whether or not we should change our Good Friday drinking laws, with the greatest opposition coming from young people, according to new research. The poll, conducted by Amárach Research and commissioned by The Iona Institute, found that 51% of the public supports a lifting of the alcohol…

‘Generating awareness a real challenge’ Irish bishops are beseeching parishes to take action as millions of people face famine in East Africa on a scale described as “absolutely frightening”. Bishops north and south of the border are appealing for aid to be supplied and awareness to be spread of the growing crisis, after prolonged droughts…

Tyrone football manager Mickey Harte has said that despite the impression given by the media, he believes that most Irish people “still hold life very precious and very dear”. Speaking to The Irish Catholic in advance of addressing the annual Ceiliuradh Cois Life dinner for pro-life education last Friday, he said that while the media…

There are “gravely insufficient” supports and services for Irish teens at risk of suicide, according to a Mater Hospital psychiatrist. This comes as a Unicef report found that Ireland has the fourth highest suicide rate among teenagers in the EU. Prof. Patricia Casey, a UCD and Mater hospital psychiatrist, has said the emergency services are…

“A society which has lost its religion becomes sooner or later a society which has lost its culture.” This sentiment undergirded the theme of the most recent Ratzinger Symposium held in the Buswells Hotel in Dublin. Entitled ‘The Future of Europe: Philosophical and Theological Perspectives’, the conference pays homage to the theology of Joseph Ratzinger,…

One of Ireland’s oldest priests, the last surviving child of any of the 1916 Rising’s executed leaders, has contested the official record of his father’s trial. Cmdt Michael Mallin, who headed the Irish Citizen Army (ICA) rebels at St Stephen’s Green and the Royal College of Surgeons during the Rising, was executed on May 8,…