Syria bishops call for negotiated solutions Syriac Catholic bishops have called for diplomatic solutions to achieve peace in Syria and Iraq. In a statement released at the conclusion of their annual synod, held in Harissa, Lebanon, the bishops urged countries, especially those directly involved in the Syrian conflict, to follow a path of “negotiation to…

The Corrymeela peace and reconciliation centre is a “legendary, extraordinary place”, which gives politicians in the North a “vision of what can be done” according to Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby. The archbishop was joined by other Church leaders, including Archbishop Eamon Martin, in Belfast on Sunday to take part in a special thanksgiving service…

The Holy See has distanced itself from claims that Pope Francis told an Italian journalist that ultimately all divorced Catholics who wish to receive Communion will be enabled to do so. Writing in La Republicca, veteran reporter Eugenio Scalfari claimed that during a phone conversation the Pontiff asked what he thought of the conclusions of…

Gardaí have appealed to clergy to be vigilant after allegations of fraud against priests by an individual reportedly posing as a social worker. The Irish Catholic understands that a number of priests in dioceses in the Leinster area were allegedly approached by an individual claiming to be a social worker acting on behalf of families…

An Post has launched a new postage stamp to commemorate the 1400th anniversary of the death of St Columban (AD543 – 615), who is remembered as one of the greatest of the Irish missionary monks. The €1.05 stamp by Irish designer Steve Simpson features a James Fraher photograph of the Harry Clarke stained-glass window in…

A Spanish priest and an Italian public relations expert have been arrested by the Vatican following an investigation into the leaking of confidential documents from the Holy See. Msgr Lucio Ángel Vallejo Balda and Francesca Chaouqui were arrested after a probe investigating the dissemination of “news and confidential documents” to the journalist Gianluigi Nuzzi, whose…

A leading priest-theologian has said the Church needs to work harder to support and form the consciences of Catholic politicians. Commenting in the aftermath of this week’s same-sex marriage vote in Stormont, Fr Niall Coll, who lectures at St Mary’s College, Belfast, told The Irish Catholic that “Catholicism in the past was so social and…

Doubts have been raised over Pope Francis’ planned trip to the war-torn Central African Republic later this month. Speaking at Sunday’s Angelus, the Pontiff called for the country’s warring opponents to “put an end to this cycle of violence”, and declared that he “hopes” to visit the beleaguered country.  Hitherto a papal visit over November…

Everybody’s favourite spy could just have easily been a priest had he not chosen the life of a deadly assassin. In Spectre, the latest instalment of the popular James Bond series, the British spy reveals he had considered a vocation to the priesthood. At one point in the film, ‘Bond-girl’ Madeleine Swann asks the agent…