Courtney McGrailStaff Reporter Last weekend’s ‘All Ireland Rally for Life’ in Belfast was an important step in fostering a pro-life movement across the island of Ireland, a leading campaigner has said. “We were very happy with the increase in young people and families,” Precious Life’s Bernadette Smyth told The Irish Catholic, continuing, “this is the tenth rally,…
Category: News
Egypt’s Christians already have a Saviour – they need a friend
John L. Allen Jr.In his 1975 ballad Thunder Road, Bruce Springsteen tells his imaginary paramour that she can either waste her summer “praying in vain for a saviour to rise from these streets,” or seize the realistic if flawed option in front of her, i.e. him. While no one probably would tout the Boss as an expert on the Middle…
State is urged to simplify religious visa applications
Greg DalyThe State has been urged to show a greater understanding of the nature of religious volunteers in a bid to speed up the immigration process for clerical and religious students coming to Ireland. Fr Hugh McMahon SSC, Executive Secretary of the missionary representative body the Irish Missionary Union (IMU) told The Irish Catholic he felt…
News in Brief
Ferns announces clerical changes Bishop Denis Brennan has announced several clerical changes in the Diocese of Ferns. Fr Hugh O’ Byrne PP Blackwater will retire on health grounds, effective immediately. Fr David Murphy will take a temporary sabbatical leave, pending appointment. Other clerics in the diocese will move to new positions in the diocese on Aug 6. Fr…
Cork Christians stand by assaulted Muslim leader
In an act of inter-faith solidarity, four leading Cork clergy have jointly condemned an attack on a popular and prominent Muslim cleric. Imam Ihab Ahmed, leader of the Cork Mosque Foundation, was attacked around 11pm on June 29 while walking with his wife on the city’s Cathedral Street. He was pushed to the ground by…
Honorary doctorate for longest serving bishop
Mags GarganBishop Anthony Farquhar, Ireland’s longest-serving bishop (ordained in 1983) who recently retired as Auxiliary Bishop of Down and Connor diocese, received the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters (DLitt) for distinguished services to Ulster University and the community. He is pictured here with Professor Deirdre Heenan Provost (Coleraine and Magee) and Dr James Nesbitt, Chancellor.…
Thousands expected at Belfast’s Rally for Life
Paul Keenan
Thousands of people are expected to attend this year’s Rally for Life in Belfast, which takes place this Saturday, July 2. Centred on the city’s Custom House Square, the event kicks off at 2pm and will be addressed by, among others, Meabh McArdle, whose daughter Fionnuala was born last year despite being given a 1%…
World News in Brief
Hindu politician attacks Mother Teresa as ‘Christian conspirator’ A member of India’s parliament has denounced the legacy of Mother Teresa as “a conspiracy to Christianise India” during a major Hindu festival. Gorakhpur Yogi Adityanath, a member of the extreme Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a grouping frequently linked to Hindu attacks on minority communities in India, including the anti-Christian pogrom in Orissa in…
Hollywood star Samuel L. Jackson thanks God for stellar career
Staff Reporter Veteran actor Samuel L. Jackson has thanked God for his stellar Hollywood career. As he picked up a lifetime achievement award at the annual Black Entertainment Television (BET) ceremony, the Jurassic Park, Star Wars and Pulp Fiction star offered his words of faith: “First I want to thank God for giving me this opportunity…
US bishops lament health insurance abortion ruling
The US Catholic Bishops have condemned a ruling by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that health plans offered by religious bodies in the state of California are not exempt from the requirement to fund abortions. In a joint statement reacting to the ruling, which was prompted by the bishops’ own appeal against…