Reluctance to fund necessary services is endangering Ireland’s vulnerable children, a leading child protection expert has said. Commenting on the number of children known to the social care system without being properly investigated, Shane Dunphy told The Irish Catholic that “there are almost 30,000 open cases which have been referred and accepted as in need…

One way of looking at the Francis pontificate is that he’s universalising what the Latin American Church agreed to at its famous continent-wide gathering in 2007, held at the Marian shrine of Aparecida in Brazil. The signature tunes of the Latin American Church to come out of that meeting – missionary discipleship, pastoral conversion, an…

Over the last number of months, a number of enthusiastic RE and music teachers within the Archdiocese of Tuam have been working on a new project which will bring 300 young people together to perform a charity concert. Awakening will be a performance of a combination of modern church and contemporary music which will raise…

The Church has become the target of indigenous anger, writes Paul Keenan “We are going to burn all churches.” Thus declared the note left at the ruins of the Christian Union Evangelical church in Ercilla, Chile, after an arson attack on March 31 laid waste to the structure. No such threat was uncovered at the…

Catholic chaplains have rejected suggestions that low Mass attendance at institutes of technology might provide a meaningful way of measuring the contribution of chaplaincies to college life. Following Freedom of Information requests to 13 institutes of technology, Atheist Ireland criticised how third level colleges annually provide over €1.5 million for Catholic-run chaplaincies. Citing an average…

To mark his 25th year in the priesthood, Fr Gary Donegan CP, rector of Holy Cross Ardoyne in Belfast, has committed to a ‘Silver Jubilee Climb’ of Croagh Patrick on Saturday, May 14 to raise money for the MS Society NI and Marie Curie. To donate visit www.mssociety.org.uk/ms-events/fr-garys-croagh-patrick-challenge-1 Photo: Hugh Russell/The Irish News

Bishop Kevin Doran has announced his intention to establish a Diocesan Council for Marriage and the Family. The Bishop of Elphin told The Irish Catholic the idea for such a council “arises particularly at the moment because of the need to engage in some form of pastoral response following from the Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia…

Staff Reporter Boxing champ Anthony Joshua’s mother skipped her son’s world title fight at the weekend, opting instead to stay at home and pray for his safety. Rather than cheering her son on as he challenged Charles Martin for the IBF heavyweight title in front of a 20,000 crowd at London’s O2 Arena, Yeta Odusanya remained…

Archbishop Eamon Martin has praised Pope Francis’ new document on the family as being “in tune with the concrete realities of everyday life as lived by married couples and families”. Welcoming the publication of the Pope’s new Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia (The Joy of Love: On Love in the Family), the Archbishop of Armagh said “the…

Former footballer returns to native parish for mission A former Manchester United footballer who is training to become a Dominican priest will be attending a nine-day mission at a parish in Belfast. Philip Mulryne, who is originally from St Oliver Plunkett Parish, Lenadoon in Belfast will return for the mission to celebrate the parish’s 40th anniversary. The mission, led by two Dominican…