February 24 saw the one year anniversary of the outbreak of war in Ukraine, and both Ukrainian and Irish communities gathered in Donneycarney parish to mark the occasion. Speaking to The Irish Catholic newspaper, Chaplain to the Ukrainian Community in Ireland Fr Vasyl Kornitsky said that the one year anniversary was a “very anxious day”…
Prayers for peace needed this Lent – Archbishop Martin Prayers, charity and sacrifice for peace and refugees are needed this Lent, Archbishop Eamon Martin said on Ash Wednesday, February 22. The world has experienced death and suffering on a large scale in the last year, the Primate of All-Ireland said in a statement. “I encourage…
EXCLUSIVE The divestment of Catholic schools in the Republic must stop until the Government gives a guarantee that the State will not attempt to undermine the Catholic identity of remaining schools, leading education experts have warned. The “clock is ticking” for Catholic education because, as divestment – handing some schools over to State control –…
Tributes have poured in for the Irish-born Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles David O’Connell who was shot dead in his home. The 69-year-old Cork native was a well-known community peacemaker who spent decades ministering in areas afflicted by poverty and gang violence. Bishop of Cork and Ross Fintan Gavin said the “tragic death” has sent…
An Irish Columban missionary in Pakistan has criticised the “religious extremism” behind violent attacks in the country following a deadly terror attack at the end of January. A bomb detonated January 30 inside a mosque in Peshawar in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa killed 101 and left hundreds more wounded. The mosque is located inside a…
Traditionalist communities in Ireland are facing further uncertainty after the Vatican Press Office published a rescript confirming that dispensations from the July 16, 2021, motu proprio Traditionis Custodes are reserved to the Apostolic See. The document, published in Italian and signed by Cardinal Arthur Roche, the Prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments,…
A recent report on conversion therapy is a “bogus” attempt to interfere with doctors’ discussions with their patients, a prominent psychiatrist has warned. The report, conducted by the Department for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, explores “conversion therapy practices” in Ireland as the Government mulls introducing a law banning the practice. The report includes…
Millions of people face the prospect of starving to death, Trócaire warned as it launched its 50th Lenten campaign. Repeated failed rains have led to nearly eight million people – almost half of Somalia’s population – struggling to find food, the charity said in a February 21 statement. “Millions of people are facing the prospect…
Staff Reporter Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín has described as “incredibly tragic” figures which reveal that 382 people experiencing homelessness have died in the last five years. “Behind each one of these statistics is a human being, and perhaps a family. “There can be no doubt now that the issue of homelessness is not just a humanitarian…
Irish-born Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles David O’Connell, was shot and killed on February 18 in his Hacienda Heights home, a neighbourhood east of LA. His death is being investigated as a homicide, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department confirmed to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles early February 19. Bishop David worked tirelessly for peace…
Chai Brady