Thousands marched through the heart of Dublin last Saturday in the annual Rally for Life. Attendees came from all over Ireland and beyond to show their support for mothers, unborn children, and for a renewal of a culture of life. From Parnell Square to Custom House Quay, the people marched with bright red placards with…
Attempts by Government to push religious orders to pay millions in redress to people affected by mother and baby homes has been described as a “form of extortion”, by Senator Ronan Mullen. Seven Catholic bodies have been asked to contribute more than a quarter of a billion euro to a redress scheme being set up…
Opus Dei has responded to criticisms contained in a widely publicised new book by a former member who complains about her treatment at the hands of the organisation. Anne Marie Allen, now 62, joined a two-year residential training course run by Opus Dei in Tuam, Co Galway, at the age of 15 in 1978. She…
By Marion Hausmann “Let us welcome Pope Leo XIV with trust, hope, and above all, joy,” the Archbishop of Dublin, Dermot Farrell has said, to mark the beginning of the Pontificate of Pope Leo XIV. Mass was held in St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral last Sunday on the Solemnity of Sts Peter and Paul, mirroring the…
The Church needs to offer clearer guidance on when priests should refuse Catholic politicians and others Communion, a leading moral theologian has said. Dr John Murray of Dublin City University was speaking after a priest in the UK refused Communion to Liberal Democrat MP Chris Coghlan, who voted in favour of a bill in the…
At 86 years old, Canon Sean Rogan has once again proven that music can move hearts. The retired priest from the parish of Drumbo and Carryduff recently hosted an evening of music and song to raise funds for people affected by the ongoing humanitarian crises in Gaza and Sudan. What began as a modest parish…
By Renata Steffens and Marion Hausmann PSNI officers have been praised by the Church Leaders’ Group in Ireland after they faced down recent protests in Ballymena. The praise came as Bishop Phonsie Cullinan of Waterford and Lismore diocese marked the Church’s Jubilee year with members of the Defence Forces, the Gardaí and Emergency and Rescue…
Renata Steffens and Chai Brady St Oliver Plunkett has been described as “unparalleled when it came to forgiveness and forgiving” by the Archbishop of Armagh Eamon Martin, as the 400th anniversary of the martyred saint’s birth approaches. It is also 50 years since his canonisation. Archbishop Martin hailed the saint in his homily during Mass at…
In one of his last acts, Pope Francis conferred the Order of Saint Gregory the Great award on Martin and Carmel Naughton, the Association of Papal Orders in Ireland has announced. The formal conferral of the papal honours will take place in late August at a Mass and ceremony in Dublin by the Bishop of…
The Church must do more to promote Catholic weddings, says the Bishop of Kerry, after recent figures showed a further decline in the number of couples choosing to marry in a Catholic ceremony. Last weekend, Bishop Ray Browne noted that less than half of weddings in his diocese now take place in a church. The…
Chai Brady
Renata Steffens