Don’t back jihadis, bishop begs British A Syrian archbishop has warned British politicians against backing Islamic militants in his country. Speaking at a meeting in the House of Lords, Greek Melkite Catholic Archbishop Jean-Clement Jeanbart of Aleppo said Syria’s Christians supported Russia’s military intervention because it gave them fresh hope that the four-year war would end in a solution favourable…

Unlike his fellow Olympian Katie Taylor, Belfast-born Michael Conlon may not speak publicly about his faith but he wears it on his chest. The 23-year-old boxer made a triumphant return to Ireland last week after winning a gold medal at the World Championships in Doha, making him the first Irish male boxer to win a…

Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron has hailed a report on Christian persecution as “a voice for the voiceless, from their prison cells and the places far from home where they have sought refuge”. ‘Persecuted and Forgotten?’, a report on Christians oppressed for their Faith 2013-2015 is a major report by Aid to the Church in…

Top-earning officials of the Irish Bishops’ Conference are being paid up to €130,000.00 per year, according to latest accounts. Accounts for the ‘hierarchy general purposes trust’ for 2014 reveal that one employee in the Church’s central administration is paid between €120,000 and €130,000 per year, a second is paid between €110,000 and €120,000 and a…

Up to 8,000 Christians – Protestants and Catholics – in Indonesia’s Aceh province have fled their homes following an arson attack on a Christian church. Violent clashes broke out when a group of Islamic fundamentalists attempted to burn down a second church in Aceh Singkil district, leading to one person being killed and dozens being…

Pro-life groups have criticised Amnesty International’s latest campaign using celebrities to call for legalising abortion in Ireland. Graham Linehan, one of the writers of Father Ted, and his wife Helen have collaborated with Amnesty on a short campaign film calling on the Government to repeal the Eighth Amendment. Mrs Linehan had an abortion in 2004…

Pope Francis has apologised for scandals in Rome and the Vatican, without saying which scandals he has in mind. Speaking at his Wednesday audience in St Peter’s Square, he said that “Jesus is realistic and it is inevitable that scandals occur,” continuing, “But woe to the person who causes scandal. Before I start this catechesis,…

An independent TD has accused RTÉ of “watering down” its longstanding presentation of the Angelus. Kerry TD Michael Healy-Rae criticised “any change in the way the Angelus is presented” following the broadcaster’s major revamp of the twice daily minute-long reflection. Noting that the Angelus had been aired “for decades”, Mr Healy-Rae warned that “any watering…

The Synod of Bishops on the Family is not being manipulated, rather the distortion rests in how it is being depicted or seen by a number of people, Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington has said. “I don’t think the synod itself has been tainted, but the lens through which it is being seen by many,…

The Parish Cells National Seminar hosted in St John the Evangelist Parish, Ballinteer, while celebrating 25 years of parish cells in Ireland, had as its theme ‘A Vision for Parish Community – how a cell community can contribute to parish life”. In 1990 Fr Michael Hurley and three parishioners from Ballinteer attended an international seminar…