Archbishop Eamon Martin has urged the Government to “go out of its way” to support the family, especially the “uniqueness of the faithful and exclusive union between a married man and a woman and their children”. “In doing so, the State is not only caring for its citizens, but it is also strengthening and nurturing…

McArthurs prepare for appeal hearing A Belfast couple prosecuted for refusing to bake a cake promoting same-sex marriage have said the controversy has strengthened their faith in God and their married life. Daniel and Amy McArthur, who run Ashers Bakery, were speaking this week as they prepared to mount an appeal against an earlier court…

Limerick looks to Paris for inspiration Limerick diocese is looking to Paris for inspiration in dealing with the fall off in vocations. Bishop Brendan Leahy led a delegation of clergy from the diocese to the French capital to learn from their approach to the declining numbers of priests. “We decided to go to Paris to look at how parishes there…

Renua election candidates have accused Fine Gael of acting on false pretences by continuing to claim special allowances for Lucinda Creighton and other former party members. “Each political party gets a certain amount of money from the State in respect of each TD and senator to support the work of parliamentarians,” Ms Creighton’s husband Senator…

The Christian radio station, Spirit Radio has reached a weekly listenership of over half a million people, according to a new survey. To mark the station’s fifth year broadcasting it commissioned a poll carried out by Amarách Research which showed that listenership has doubled in the last two years. CEO of Spirit Radio, Rob Clarke…

Eighth amendment key election issue – claim The key human rights issue of our time is the right to life of the unborn, and defence of the Eighth Amendment must become a central issue in the upcoming general election, Family and Life’s legal advisor told a gathering in Kildare recently, writes Susan Gately. Tens of thousands of Irish people were “walking…

The Diocese of Palm Beach has rejected as “completely inaccurate” claims by an Irish priest that he was “frozen out” by the Catholic Church for raising safeguarding concerns about a fellow priest. The US diocese was responding to an article in the Irish Independent which reported on the case of Strabane native Fr John Gallagher…

Irish folk singer Dolores Keane has spoken of how her Catholic faith helped her in her fight against alcohol addiction. In an interview on the Meaning of Life with Gay Byrne, the singer explained that prayer had played a big part in her life growing up, but she then lost her faith until she sought…

Catholic schools should not be governed by league tables or results, but by mercy and inclusion, according to the head of the Catholic primary schools body. Fr Tom Deenihan, General Secretary of the Catholic Primary Schools Management Association (CPSMA), said the danger of focusing on league tables is that “we would value the educationally gifted…

Congratulations to Kathleen Magennis from Dublin, who won our Christmas crossword competition. The first prize is a fully inclusive pilgrimage for two to Lourdes in 2016 with Pilgrimages Abroad. The three runners-up who will receive a copy of The Francis Effect DVD are: Mrs P. Gray, Dublin 9; Kathleen Murray, Co. Cork; Margaret McNulty, Limerick.…