The United Nations has a crucial role to play in securing the future of the Middle East, particularly for people being tortured, kidnapped and killed because of their religious beliefs, the CEO of the Knights of Columbus said at a day-long UN conference part-sponsored by the Vatican. Speaking at the April 28 conference, sponsored by…

Rome-based Irish cleric Bishop Paul Tighe speaks with U2 guitarist David Evans, also known by his stage name The Edge, at the Vatican at the weekend. But what were they talking about? Send suggested captions to editor@irishcatholic.ie or Caption Competition, The Irish Catholic, St Mary’s, Bloomfield Avenue, Donnybrook, Dublin 4 before Monday May 16. Best…

A bishop in the Dominican Republic has accusing the US ambassador to the Caribbean country of abusing his position to advance “the LGBT agenda”. Bishop Victor Masalles, auxiliary bishop of Santo Domingo, believes Ambassador James Brewster is engaging in what Pope Francis has called “cultural imperialism” and “ideological colonisation”, using western money and power to…

The Archdiocese of Armagh is holding a ‘Rosary Relay’ in schools and parishes during the month of May as part of the Year of Mercy. Announcing the prayer initiative, Archbishop Eamon Martin said his vision is to “unite the pupils of the Archdiocese of Armagh in prayer during the month of May and then, through their example, to pass on…

Security failures led to massacre in Nigeria – claim A Nigerian bishop has denounced security failures that enabled the massacre of at least 20 people. The massacre took place on April 25 in the township of Nimbus in the south-east of Nigeria, shortly after security forces withdrew from the area. It has been attributed to Fulani herdsmen, a group of whom attacked the…

Cork to host conference on role of Scripture St Colman’s Society for Catholic Liturgy has announced that the ninth Fota International Liturgy Conference will be held at the Clarion Hotel in Cork City from July 9-11. The conference theme is ‘Verbum Domini: Liturgy and Scripture’ and will examine aspects of the role of Scripture in the liturgy from a range of disciplinary…

Lebanon’s Cardinal Bechara Rai has urged the international community to strive to end the wars in the Middle East, and called for a return of displaced people to their countries of origin. Addressing the European Parliament, the Maronite Catholic patriarch warned that the crisis has direct consequences not only for Christians in the region, but…

Staff Reporter The two national representative bodies for religious in Ireland are in the final stages of merging into a new organisation after an extensive series of talks.  The Conference of Religious of Ireland (CORI) and the Irish Missionary Union (IMU), which have almost a complete overlap of membership, have been taking part in discussions with…

A French cardinal being investigated for his handling of allegations of clerical sexual abuse has admitted mistakes and introduced new anti-abuse measures. Following a three-hour meeting with 220 priests, during which testimony from at least one abuse survivor was heard, Lyon archdiocese issued a statement on behalf of Cardinal Philip Barbarin. “The cardinal has accepted…

A Derry nun who was killed in an earthquake in Ecuador last month was described as a “striking example of womanhood” at her funeral on Monday. Sr Clare Crockett (33) was killed three weeks ago while trying to bring children to safety when a stairwell collapsed in Playa Prieta where she had been serving as…