Youth workers for the Dublin archdiocese took a novel approach to evangelisation kick-starting Lent this year. The diocese’s youth evangelisation team took to the streets outside the newly opened St Paul’s church on Arran Quay inviting people in to receive ashes on Ash Wednesday. The team promoted the event using the hashtag #AshtagWednesday on social…

The Mercy Sisters have rejected suggestions that they sought to block the provision of modular homes for homeless people. In The Irish Times in a February 15 article headed ‘Nuns lodge objection to modular housing’ it was reported that the Mercy Sisters were among those who had “lodged objections to the planned provision of 135…

The Pro-Life Campaign has urged voters to quiz general election candidates on where they stand on the constitutional protection of the unborn. The PLC has released a new video on YouTube urging voters only to support candidates who will use their influence to protect the Eighth Amendment. “Your Vote Matters – Use It To Protect…

Marie Collins, the Irish clerical abuse survivor who has been a member of Pope Francis’ child protection advisory panel since its foundation, has said she did not vote for the suspension of her colleague and fellow survivor Peter Saunders. Following a February 6 discussion about the “direction and purpose” of the Pontifical Commission for the…

Priests have described the “shock” felt by local parishioners following the recent gangland violence that saw two men killed in the nation’s capital. Fr John Jones, administrator of Whitehall parish, said locals were “shocked” by the shootings that saw a man killed and two others injured at the nearby Regency Hotel. “It was a very…

An Bord Pleanála have rejected a Dublin hostels’ application to replace well-known The Irish Catholic sign on the facade of the building with the word “Paddywagon”. A conservation officer said the sign was “integral to the artistic, social and cultural significance of the building” on Dublin’s Lower Gardiner Street. The Paddywagon hostel operator and tour…

Gay cake appeal case adjourned The appeal by the Christian owners of a Belfast bakery who were found to have discriminated against a gay customer was adjourned last week to facilitate an intervention by Northern Ireland’s Attorney General. John Larkin QC made a last-minute request to make representation in the case about any potential conflict between the North’s equality legislation…

A veteran newspaper publisher has warned that the Irish media risks losing a sense of the important voice of faith in public debate. Matt Dempsey, the former chairman of the National Newspapers of Ireland (NNI), questioned whether people have “become so mesmerised by the scandals that they overlook the selfless sacrifices of thousands as they…

A large number of couples are continuing to present for marriage counselling because of financial problems despite the country entering economic recovery. According to the latest figures released by ACCORD, the Church’s marriage care service, the number of couples citing financial problems as a reason for attending counselling doubled from 2007 to a peak of…

A member of the singing group The Priests, who features on this year’s Trócaire Lenten box, has praised the “incredible” generosity of Irish parishes in raising life-changing funds for the world’s most vulnerable. Fr Martin O’Hagan, Trócaire’s representative in the Diocese of Down and Connor, told The Irish Catholic that the “people of Ireland deserve…