Pupils can feel vulnerable and embarrassed in sex education classes in school, according to a new study which looks at the experience of pupils in a number of countries, including Ireland. The study appears in the latest issue of the British Medical Journal. It also reports that pupils dislike their usual teacher teaching sex education.…

September 12 marked the 10th anniversary of perhaps the most controversial papal speech of the last half-century, an address given by emeritus Pope Benedict XVI in Regensburg, Germany, in 2006, which sparked a firestorm of protest across the Islamic world. In the opening section of the speech, Benedict cited a 14th-Century dialogue between a Byzantine…

Br Kevin Madigan OSB (left) after his recent Simple Profession of Monastic Vows at Glenstal Abbey, pictured with Abbot Brendan Coffey OSB.      

An entirely new front in the war against so-called Islamic State (ISIS) was opened up at the end of August, and once again, the bulk of the western media missed it. More eager for the immediacy of daily bombings in Syria and battlefield gains by Turkish tanks and allies in pushing ISIS ever further back…

A report suggesting that more than half of Irish adults don’t fully understand what end-of-life palliative care involves is probably accurate, Bishop Kevin Doran has said. The Bishop of Elphin’s comments followed an announcement by the All Ireland Institute of Hospice and Palliative Care that more than half of those surveyed admit to having at…

The Sisters of Mercy have rejected claims that delays in transferring land in Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin for the National Rehabilitation Hospital are their responsibility. The hospital was promised the site in 2009 as part of a State deal to increase compensation payments for abuses in religious-run institutions. In a statement, the sisters said: “We…

The Catholic Schools Partnership (CSP), the body representing all stakeholders in Catholic education in Ireland has announced two major new appointments. Fr Richard Byrne OCarm will become the body’s chairperson, while Mr Ferdia Kelly assumes to the role of chief executive. Fr Byrne is currently Provincial of the Irish Province of Carmelites. He has a…

Children process in the Knock Basilica, Co. Mayo, on September 11, during the annual Catholic Grandparents Association pilgrimage. Photo: James Wright Photography. 

A group working for school choice in Ireland has welcomed British Prime Minister Theresa May’s move to boost Catholic schools in Britain by eliminating the religion-based admissions cap and permitting the building of more Catholic schools. Barrister Patrick Treacy of Faith in Our Schools said Mrs May’s identifying of Catholic schools as a key part…