Courtney McGrail“It is good to be alive; it is better to live as a priest; it is best to be a priest in the Diocese of Meath!” So declared Fr Oliver Skelly, parish priest of Coole, on the 25th anniversary of his ordination. Prior to becoming parish priest of Coole, where the anniversary Mass was celebrated…
Category: News
Orders should cut ties with abusive clergy, safeguarding chief says
Greg Daly
Religious bodies should cease financial and other support for members who have been found guilty of child sexual abuse, the head of the Church’s child protection board has said. Speaking to The Irish Catholic, Teresa Devlin, CEO of the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland, said “at some stage, once…
Leading Christian defender goes into hiding in Pakistan
Paul Keenan
One of Pakistan’s leading human rights lawyers who regularly defends Christians accused of blasphemy has been forced into hiding due to death threats. Sardar Mushtaq Gill, National Director of Legal Evangelical Association Development (LEAD), a body providing legal aid to religious minorities in Pakistan, has faced numerous threats in the past, but as a high…
Dallas Bishop urges peace in wake of police shootings
The Irish-born Bishop of Dallas, Kevin Farrell, has led calls for peace and “a moment of national reflection” on race and violence in America in the wake of the deadly July 7 shootings of five police officers in the city. Bishop Farrell, who hails from Dublin, described events in Dallas as “staggering” and urged an…
World News in Brief
Chinese churches forced to surrender income, donations Churches in Zheijiang province in China are being forced to hand over income and donations under a new law, it has been reported. According to Chinaaid.org, which monitors the situation of Christian communities in the country, government officials have begun to oversee donations to churches while, under provisions of the new law, communities must…
Children’s Remembrance Garden opens at Knock
A flower garden dedicated to the memory of deceased children has opened at Knock. On July 9, families of some 700 children listed in Knock’s book of remembrance gathered at the Marian shrine to see the culmination of a project begun at the prompting of parents who attend Knock in November each year to remember…
Christian businesses threatened by militants in Bangladesh
Islamic militants in Bangladesh have issued threats to Christian businesses that they face attack if they do not comply with Islamic rules. Among the demands made in an anonymous pamphlet delivered to Christian traders as well as Hindu businesses is that Islamic inscriptions be placed over entrances to hotels and shops, that a copy of…
Latest abortion poll ‘disgracefully loaded’ – PLC
The Pro Life Campaign (PLC) has dismissed as manipulative the last poll on abortion conducted for The Irish Times. The poll question asked “Are you in favour of repealing the Eighth Amendment so that terminations in, for example, the case of rape or fatal foetal abnormality might be made legal, or are you in favour…
Biblical images unearthed in ancient Galilee synagogue
Images depicting Noah’s Ark and Moses’ parting of the Red Sea have been uncovered at an ancient synagogue in Galilee. The mosaic images are the latest find in a long-term excavation taking place at the 5th-Century Huqoq synagogue. The site is already famous among archaeologists for the wealth of its mosaics, with images of beasts…
Frasier star condemns abortion
The actor Kelsey Grammer has spoken out strongly against abortion. Openly pro-life, the star, best known for his role as comical psychiatrist Frasier spoke during an interview with The Times newspaper of his sense of anger at the language employed to justify abortion. “It gets a bit dishonest to call something reproductive rights when you…