The master of the Rotunda Hospital has criticised the Government’s controversial abortion law. Dr Sam Coulter-Smith claimed the absence of a gestational age limit in the State’s current abortion legislation creates a challenge for doctors. The obstetrician also remarked that he overestimated the number of abortions that would occur on the suicide ground and that…

Bishop Donal McKeown chats to young people who were among 150 delegates from parishes, schools and youth groups who attended the Diocesan Youth Ministry Conference in Thornhill College, Derry at the weekend, to plan the way forward for developing faith opportunities for young people at parish level. Photo: Stephen Latimer

Ten years after the publication of the devastating Ferns Report into clerical abuse, child safeguarding in the Diocese of Ferns continues to be an “evolving” process.  The Ferns Inquiry began in 2002 and lasted three and a half years, being published on October 25, 2005 with Ferns being described in the press as “the most…

Pope Francis on Sunday celebrated a Mass to wind up an unprecedented, and wildly tumultuous, series of two summits of Catholic bishops. They were convened to debate matters related to the family, including the front lines in today’s wars of culture, such as homosexuality, divorce, and the meaning of marriage. On Saturday, the Vatican released…

Time for action rather than ‘talking shops’

The Pope’s upcoming African trip will require distinct messages, writes Paul Keenan

“I get on my knees and pray right at the side of the bed, no matter where I am.”

A parish run initiative to get more men involved in the Church has been described as “wonderful” by the local parish priest, Fr John Sinnott. Seventy men met for a full Irish breakfast, cooked by male volunteers in Johnstown Parish Hall, in Johnstown, South Dublin. The outreach initiative took inspiration from Rebuilt, the book about…

Pope Francis arrives to lead an audience with Roma, Sinti and members of the Travelling community at the Vatican on Monday. The Pontiff appeared to reference the recent tragedy at a halting site in Dublin in which ten people lost their lives when he said: “we do not want to witness any more family tragedies…

Newry parish in Co. Down is to play host to a very new kind of parish faith mission in the run up to Christmas and to mark the new ‘Year of Mercy’. The mission will be given by some 20 international lay missionaries who are studying at the Emmanuel School of Mission in Rome. The…