President Michael D. Higgins meeting with Cardinal Jaime Ortega during his offi cial visit to Cuba last week. President Higgins told The Irish Catholic he was “delighted” to meet with the cardinal and they had “an hour long discussion on current events, local, regional and global”. Cardinal Ortega was Archbishop of Havana for 35 years…

The Vatican should speed up how it deals with the cases of priests accused of abuse, the head of the Irish Church’s safeguarding body has said, calling on Ireland’s hierarchy to engage with the Vatican to encourage this. Addressing Australia’s royal commission into institutional abuse, Teresa Devlin, CEO of the National Board for the Safeguarding…

Staff Reporter Two clerics are part of an Irish delegation which travelled to Colombia last week to share the experience of the Northern Ireland peace process. Methodist Rev. Harold Good and Redemptorist Fr Michael Kelleher were in Colombia to speak with the Government and FARC members who have turned themselves in to reincorporation zones as…

Demand for pre-marriage courses from the Catholic agency ACCORD has seen a significant increase despite a devastating cut in Government funding. Numbers attending the pre-marriage courses have steadily risen in recent years with an 8.5% increase across the country last year and a 15.6% in Dublin. Bishop Denis Nulty, President of ACCORD, welcomed the “huge…

‘You bring so much joy, practical help and hope where it doesn’t exist’ President Michael D. Higgins has told Irish missionaries in Peru that they present “the values of Ireland at their very best” through the “joy, practical help and hope” that they bring to disadvantaged communities in Latin America. President Higgins is currently on…

The famed American crooner Harry Connick Jr has revealed how his deep Catholic faith has guided his entertainment career and sustained his 27-year marriage. In an interview ahead of the airing of a new talk-show bearing his name, Connick Jr explained how his faith informs the decisions he makes in life. “The decisions I make…

Andy Devane in Rome The owner of Rome’s oldest pub has revealed how Irish priests and seminarians kept the place alive in the fledgling early days. The famous in the shadows of the landmark basilica of St Mary Major, is celebrating 40 years as the eternal city’s ‘go to’ Irish pub. Gino Bottigliero brought Guinness…

Archbishop attacks healthcare system The Archbishop of Dublin has criticised the country’s healthcare system as being “one of the darkest shadows” hanging over a wealthy Ireland. At a conference to mark World Day of the Sick in Sutton, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin attacked the bureaucratic failures of the HSE and warned that the “system itself is…

A prayer initiative in Killaloe has seen two-thirds of parishes in the diocese praying regularly for vocations and a rise in the numbers of young men considering the path to priesthood. According to the diocese, a number of years ago, then Bishop of Killaloe Kieran O’Reilly invited the Lay Apostolate of Eucharistic Adoration to become…

Catholic schools have welcomed news that new guidelines to streamline the process for vetting people who work in schools are expected shortly. “We’re absolutely delighted to hear that it’s imminent,” Seamus Mulconry, General Secretary of the Catholic Primary Schools Management Association (CPSMA), told The Irish Catholic. “It will be very welcome by schools and voluntary…