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…

Catholic schools offer a “particularly successful model of education” thanks to the social cohesion offered by parishes, the Bishop of Derry has said. Bishop Donal McKeown was reacting to a report commissioned by the North’s Executive, which examined the effects of deprivation on educational achievement.  The report recommends an end to academic selection as a…

Pope Francis’ visit to Kenya, Uganda, and the Central African Republic is relevant to all of Africa, Durban’s Cardinal Wilfrid Napier has said.   “I am deeply convinced that the Pope’s visit to Kenya, Uganda and the Central African Republic will impact the whole of Africa,” the cardinal said in an interview, adding, “What the Holy…

An initiative which aimed to bring the Pope’s message of mercy to Christmas shoppers during the festive season has been praised as a resounding success.  Sixteen priests made themselves available to customers for confessions in Skycourt Shopping Centre in Co. Clare on December 8 as Pope Francis opened the extraordinary jubilee dedicated to emphasising God’s…

North Americans and Salvadorans have gathered at the precise spot where four churchwomen were killed 35 years ago to emphasise that the women’s work for El Salvador’s poor remains alive. “It is important for us to remember that her work for justice and peace lives on,” said Terri Keogh of her late sister, Maryknoll Sister…

Staff reporter Irish rugby legend Ollie Campbell has revealed that his Catholic faith is a “very important” part of his life.  In an extensive interview with The Irish Catholic the former fly-half said he had a “very strong faith”. “I’m a weekly massgoer. It would be a rare Sunday that I wouldn’t get Mass,” he said.…

Vatileaks II suspect linked with property scam The home of Francesca Chaouqui and her husband Corrado Lanino has been raided by police because of suspected access to computers linked to a probe into suspected irregularities in the sale of a 14th-Century castle. Mrs Chaouqui, a former member of a Vatican advisory council, is already facing a Vatican court with two others…

Tributes paid to retiring bishop Having served as auxiliary bishop of Ireland’s second-largest diocese for 32 years, Bishop Anthony Farquhar has retired having reached the age of 75. Appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Down and Connor in 1983, Bishop Farquhar was the longest-serving bishop in the country. Bishop Noel Treanor of Down & Connor paid tribute to his colleague for…

Former Taoiseach John Bruton has said warned that citizens’ assemblies and conventions are no substitute for the Oireachtas dealing with controversial issues like abortion. Mr Bruton said that legislators should not set aside tried-and-tested parliamentary processes. Mr Bruton told The Irish Catholic he has “no problem with supplementing existing parliamentary processes for policy determination with…