Further State funding for bodies with a religious ethos appears in doubt after the Diocese of Elphin confirmed it was forced to pull out of a local family life centre to guarantee future funding. It was first reported in The Irish Catholic last week that Tusla – the State’s child and family agency – was…
God sees beyond our sins, and does not identify us with what we have done wrong, Pope Francis said on the third anniversary of his election as Pontiff. Addressing the crowds in St Peter’s Square after his usual Sunday recitation of the Angelus, the Pope did not mention the anniversary, instead focusing wholly on God’s…
After 12 years as diocesan secretary in Limerick, Fr Paul Finnerty said his new appointment as Vice Rector of the Irish Pontifical College in Rome is “daunting” but “exciting”. One of his first challenges will be to learn Italian. “I will have to hit the books in a big way,” Fr Finnerty told The Irish…
Renewal must be a priority for the Church in India, the country’s bishops have said. In a statement following their biennial assembly, the bishops noted the Church’s “excessive preoccupation with institutionalisation, insufficient zeal and fear of proclaiming Christ as the unique saviour”. They also acknowledged a “growing indifference to and lack of commitment to the…
The headmaster of one of the country’s leading Jesuit schools has spoken of the importance of “academic rigour” in religious education (RE). Belvedere College SJ Headmaster Gerry Foley also called on Catholic schools to develop a “common language” to articulate their unique ethos. Speaking to a meeting of Catholic educators at Marino Institute of Education…
Churches’ differences remain Although the Catholic and Orthodox Churches agree on key contemporary issues, the two remain divided in serious ways, the Russian Orthodox Church’s ‘foreign minister’ has said. “Despite the understanding reached on many vital problems of modernity,” Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk said in an interview, “profound differences remain between Orthodox and Catholic Christians, in particular…
The North’s environment minister Mark Durkan MLA, has been criticised for using “offensive” and “hurtful” language in speaking about abortion in the case of unborn children with life-limiting conditions. Speaking at a launch of a Women’s Manifesto in Derry, Minister Durkan said: “Now, to talk about the elephant in the room – or, the elephant…
Christians in Libya, Iraq and Syria are victims of an ISIS-orchestrated genocide, a report issued by the Knights of Columbus and In Defence of Christians has said. The 278-page document was released in Washington, ahead of a congressionally mandated deadline for the Department of State to announce if genocide is being committed against religious and…
Thousands of pilgrims are expected to retrace their ancestral heritage during Easter as they take to Ireland’s ancient pilgrim paths. The inaugural National Pilgrim Paths Week will see a nationwide series of pilgrim walks taking place on Ireland’s medieval penitential trails from Tuesday, March 22 to Tuesday, March 29. Knowledgeable local guides will lead each…
A Venezuelan bishop has issued a public appeal after 28 miners went missing. Ciudad Guayana’s Bishop Mariano Parra Sandoval issued his statement after meeting relatives of the missing men, who are feared dead after clashes with criminal gangs. Local reports claim that a clash between miners and gang members took place in Tumeremo in Bolivar…
Cathal Barry
Courtney McGrail
Mags Gargan