Christians must neither seek refuge in conservatism or fundamentalism as though everything was better in the past nor reject everything that seems old-fashioned thereby “relativising all the wisdom accumulated in our rich ecclesial heritage” according to Pope Francis. Speaking by video message to participants in Buenos Aires at the Second International Congress of Theology, on…

Definite progress is clear in the safeguarding of children in Ireland’s Church, according to the head of the national safeguarding board. Speaking in connection with the publication of 43 reports of orders whose safeguarding procedures have been audited by the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church (NBSCCCI), Teresa Devlin, NBSCCCI CEO said…

Every human life is worthy of our “utmost care and protection to its natural end”

The Church’s child protection watchdog will release the latest round of audits on how Church bodies are implementing robust procedures next week The Irish Catholic has learned. The eighth tranche of national safeguarding reports is expected to be released next Wednesday. The National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland (NBSCCCI) is…

Our Lady of Fatima bound for Syria The statue of Our Lady of Fatima will leave Portugal for Syria on September 7 to be offered for veneration in Damascus. Intended as a sign of Christian solidarity with suffering Syrians, the pilgrimage is a response to an appeal from His Beatitude Gregory III Laham, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, and…

Two missionaries and an Irish chaplain based in the US have been named in the Presidential Distinguished Service Awards. The awards recognise those who have served Ireland with distinction and those who have actively contributed to Ireland in a sustained manner.  Sr Miriam Duggan of the Franciscan Sisters is being awarded for her charitable work…

Pope Francis has led renewed calls for an end to anti-Christian persecution.  Leading his weekly Sunday audience in Rome, the Pontiff celebrated the life of newly-beatified Lebanese martyr Syriac Bishop Flavien-Michel Malke but then departed from his scripted address to issue a call to the international community to act on the continuing persecution of Christians.…

One of the most high profile stars of US basketball has credited his Christian faith in supporting him through lows in his playing career. Following a less than glorious season with the Houston Rockets, Jeremy Lin revealed that his failures had brought him closer to God. “God has used all of these setbacks to slowly…

The government of the Indian state of Karnataka has announced it is to compensate 12 Christians who fell victim to Hindu radicals during a wave of violence in 2008. In September 2008, over 20 Protestant churches across the state were attacked and ransacked by members of the Sangh Parivar, an umbrella group for extreme Hindu…

The Primate of All Ireland has said that real growth and change in the Irish Church will not come from the bishops but from the ground up. Speaking to about 250 young adults at a youth conference organised by the Legion of Mary in Dublin at the weekend, Archbishop Eamon Martin said the three biggest…