Mags GarganSadness has been expressed on the death of Bro. James Weston FSC. James P. Weston was born in Castlebar, Co. Mayo in 1925. After attending primary school he entered the De La Salle boarding school in Castletown, Co. Laois and from there he joined the De La Salle Brothers and was given the name Bro.…
Category: News
Golfing legend Christy O’Connor Jr found solace in faith
Irish golfing legend Christy O’Connor Jr’s strong faith “came to his rescue” after his teenage son’s death, his funeral was told on Tuesday. The 67-year-old, known for playing a lead role in Europe’s Ryder Cup win in 1989, had been on holiday in Tenerife when he died in his sleep on Wednesday, January 6. At…
Bishop Larry Forristal celebrates diamond jubilee
A celebration was recently held in Gowran Abbey Nursing Home in Co. Kilkenny to mark the diamond jubilee of Bishop Emeritus of Ossory, Bishop Laurence Forristal writes Jimmy Rhatigan. It was a happy, convivial occasion, a light and easy celebration of 60 years in religious life with an afternoon of prayer, banter and a few…
Irish-born US bishop slates ‘cowboy mentality’ gun culture
Cathal Barry
The Irish-born Bishop of Dallas has criticised as “cowboy” the gun culture in the US. Bishop Kevin Farrell, who was born in Dublin, insisted the “cowboy mentality” that existed in the US with regard to guns was leading to thousands of deaths in the country every year. Dr Farrell told The Irish Catholic that he…
Migration crisis at the heart of Pope’s ‘state of the world’ address
Europe has a “twofold moral responsibility to protect the rights of its citizens and to ensure assistance to and acceptance to migrants”, Pope Francis has said. Speaking in the Vatican’s Regal Room in his annual New Year address to members of the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See, the Pope reflected at length on…
Holy Land needs bridges, not walls – bishop
Greg Daly
The success of the peace process in Ireland may offer a template for a long-term solution to tension and violence in the Holy Land, Bishop John McAreavey has suggested. Speaking after a trip to the region which included stops in Gaza and the West Bank, the Bishop of Dromore told The Irish Catholic he feared…
Euthanised woman’s family sues Catholic care home
The Belgian family of an elderly cancer sufferer who wanted to die by euthanasia is suing a Catholic care home for refusing to allow a lethal injection on Church-run premises. Mariette Buntjens died days later after receiving the injection from a doctor in a private residence. The woman’s daughter Nadine Engelen claims the Sint-Augustinus rest…
Ossory launches new Confirmation programme
The Diocese of Ossory has launched a Confirmation Retreat Programme which is led by teenagers as instructors and guides to the Confirmation children. Named ORC (Ossory retreat programme for Confirmation) the new programme is based at St Mary’s Cathedral Campus, Kilkenny and is being co-ordinated by Fr Brian Griffin, a newly-ordained priest, along with at…
American bishops welcome latest gun control efforts
American bishops have welcomed President Barack Obama’s executive action on gun control, introducing a range of measures to regulate the sale of firearms. Miami’s Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski, chairman of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, said in a statement that “For a long time now, the bishops…
Augustinian retreat centre to be sold
The popular Augustinian retreat centre, Orlagh, in Dublin is to be sold. The Augustinians have been on the site since 1872 when they acquired the property for use as the novitiate for those who wished to join their ranks. For more than a decade, however, Orlagh has been a retreat centre offering a programme of…