The announcement that RTÉ Radio will continue its longwave 252 service until 2019, while it seeks an alternative service to facilitate Irish people in Britain, has been widely welcomed. RTÉ had previously announced that it would close its longwave service, which includes the broadcast of Sunday Mass, in 2014 as part of a migration to…

Staff Reporter Tributes have been paid to the Pope’s representative in Ireland, Archbishop Charles Brown following the announcement that he is to take up a new appointment in Albania in the coming weeks. The US-born prelate (57) was hand-picked by Pope Benedict XVI when relations between Dublin and Rome hit an all-time-low after the Taoiseach’s…

The religious sisters at the centre of controversy surrounding the Tuam Mother and Baby Home feel unable to comment on the issue due to legal constraints, The Irish Catholic understands. Recent revelations about the excavation of a general grave at St Mary’s Mother and Baby Home have been commented on both by Archbishop Michael Neary…

The next national collection for next year’s World Meeting of Families in Dublin is due to be taken up in parishes across the country at Masses on the first weekend of April. The August 22-26 event is expected to attract thousands of Catholic families from around the globe to Ireland. Pope Francis has chosen Ireland…

The Police Service in Northern Ireland (PSNI) has moved to tackle the online sale of abortion drugs in the region. The PSNI confirmed that it had “carried out a number of searches in relation to illegal purchasing of prescription medications on the internet”. In relation to the raids, Detective Superintendent Bobby Singleton explained that offences…

A leading peace campaigner in the North has expressed optimism that the political parties will be able to agree a new power-sharing deal at Stormont before the upcoming deadline. Following the Assembly election on March 3, the law requires a fresh election after three weeks if there is no coalition formed. Fr Gary Donegan CP,…

An Irish Columban sister who was violently attacked by a masked assailant in the Philippines, will not let her “terrible ordeal” affect her work, according to her congregational leader. Sr Kathleen Melia (70), who is originally from Co. Leitrim, has worked as a missionary in the Philippines for over 30 years, in particular campaigning for…

The decision by Wexford General Hospital to remove the word ‘saint’ from its ward signs has been described as “disappointing” by the local bishop, questioning a tendency to suppress references to religious belief in Ireland’s public life. The hospital revised the ward names after it drew down funding for improved signage after opening a new…

Leading child protection campaigner Marie Collins has challenged claims by the head of the Vatican department responsible for dealing with allegations of clerical abuse. Cardinal Gerhard Müller, who heads the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), had rejected claims by Mrs Collins that members of the CDF had obstructed proposals for reform recommended…

Last Sunday saw Dublin’s pro cathedral host the annual Rite of Election and Enrolement for 50 new members of the Catholic Church in the archdiocese. In the presence of Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, 43 catechumens (awaiting baptism) and seven candidates (baptised) attended the ceremony to welcome them to the Church, culminating in each one signing the…