An Irish chaplain who played a central role in providing support to those involved in the Berkeley balcony collapse earlier this year, has been named ‘International Person of the Year’. Fr Brendan McBride was named joint winner of the award along with Philip Grant, Consul General of Ireland to the Western United States, for supporting…

Bishop Donal McKeown has warned parishioners not to “sub-contract” acts of compassion to charities during the Year of Mercy. Noting that the holy year was “a call to all followers of Christ to be well known for their unobtrusive generosity and compassion”, the Bishop of Derry said there was a need “to reflect whether clergy,…

A veteran liberal theologian has poured cold water on continued expectations that Pope Francis will steer a different course from Pope Benedict. Fr Gabriel Daly OSA points to the fact that Francis “continues to lay stress on the continuity between Benedict’s pontificate and his own”, and says while many expect Pope Francis to be “an…

Fr Noel Weir (39) is pictured with his family following his ordination by Bishop Michael Smith in the Church of the Assumption, Tullamore on Sunday – the second ordination for the Diocese of Meath this year. Pictured: Back row (from left) Katie Fletcher, Catherine Weir, Fr Noel Weir, Mary Weir, Eileen Fletcher, Ignatius and Emer…

John L. Allen takes on the risky business of predicting the future

El Salvador’s civil war killers face fading immunity, writes Paul Keenan

A major inquiry has concluded that Britain is no longer a Christian country and should recognise this. The two-year inquiry by the Commission on Religion and Belief in British Public Life, chaired by the former senior judge Baroness Butler-Sloss and involving religious leaders from all faiths, found that the decline of churchgoing and the rise…

Bishops accuse banks, politicians of instilling dread

Ex-MP to head Britain’s Jesuit Refugee Service Former Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Teather has been appointed as Director of the Jesuit Refugee Service in the UK (JRS UK). Ms Teather joined the International Advocacy team of JRS in June 2015, and has visited JRS projects all over the world as an advocacy adviser.   While an MP, Ms Teather chaired the…

Tributes have been paid to Fr Gerry Reynolds, a priest credited for his role in the Northern Ireland peace process, who has died aged 80. The Redemptorist priest based at Clonard Monastery in west Belfast, died in the city’s Royal Victoria Hospital on Monday (November 30) after a short illness. Fr Reynolds, a Co. Limerick…