Bishop Brendan Leahy has urged those responsible for thefts at two Limerick city churches “to examine their conscience”. Almost €1,000 was stolen in thefts which occurred in St Paul’s Church in Dooradoyle and St Oliver Plunkett’s Church in Mungret. Speaking on local radio Bishop Leahy said the money was “donated to the Church for activities…

Islamist protesters in Pakistan have ended a days-long sit in outside the national parliament claiming that the government had given in to a number of their demands, including that a Christian woman accused of blasphemy be hanged. The protest had begun as a criticism of the February 29 execution Mumtaz Qadri, the self-confessed murderer of…

A prominent republican priest has strongly rebuked Bob Geldof’s remarks comparing the leaders of the 1916 Rising to jihadi suicide bombers. Fr Joe McVeigh, who is based in Co. Fermanagh, told The Irish Catholic that the controversial singers’ comparison was “outrageous”. “Normally I do not pay much attention to anything Geldof has to say. He…

This Easter was a peaceful and hopeful one for Christians in the north of Iraq and Baghdad, one of the city’s bishops has said. Christians gathered in “crowded” churches to participate in liturgies “with joy and without any incidents of violence”, Bishop Shlemon Warduni, Chaldean auxiliary bishop of Baghdad,  said. Themes Holy Week services with…

Schools need to embrace Christian meditation The Diocese of Elphin has urged Catholic schools to try Christian meditation, noting that the practice appears absent from many schools in the diocese. In a statement on Facebook, the diocese said there is “a lot of talk about ‘mindfulness’ these days”, adding that it was “strange” that so few people seem to be…

A South Sudanese bishop has called for the release of a former regional governor who has been held without trial since his December 22 arrest by the national security service. “All citizens have equal rights before the law and have the right to be brought before a court to be punished according to the law…

Oscar-winning actor Jeremy Irons has said that the Catholic Church is right to say abortion is a sin, because it harms women. The Cork-based actor, who is married to Irish actress Sinead Cusack, said that while he believed “that women should be allowed to make the decision”, that he also believed the Church is correct…

Post-synodal apostolic exhortation due on April 8 Pope Francis’s eagerly awaited post-synodal apostolic exhortation on love in the family will be released on the morning of Friday, April 8, the Vatican has announced. The panel of speakers at the press conference, at which Amoris Laetitia (The Joy of Love) will be released, include Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, general secretary of the Synod…

Paranoia as a result of the clerical sex abuse scandals is “hampering” priests from engaging fully with society, a prominent psychotherapist has warned. Kevin Egan, who has lectured in All Hallows College in psychology and pastoral theology, told The Irish Catholic that “the main thing that blocks mission in the Church today is paranoia or…

Pope Francis has met with the traditionalist Society of St Pius X, a group that separated itself from the wider Church decades ago in opposition to the reforms of the Second Vatican Council. The Vatican confirmed the weekend meeting between the Pontiff and Bishop Bernard Fellay, Superior General of the Society in a sign that…