Priest says Govt inaction is an ‘embarrassment’

Each year pilgrims gather on the Sunday after September 25, the feast day of St Finbarr, patron saint of the Diocese of Cork, to honour him and ask for his blessing. This year pilgims will gather on Sunday, September 27 in Gougane Barra to celebrate ‘Gougane Sunday’. Rosary will be recited in the oratory at…

17 new seminarians begin formation

Staff Reporter Hundreds of people attended a protest in Dublin at the weekend calling for an end to funding for the Irish Family Planning Association (IFPA) – an affiliate of Planned Parenthood – in the wake of the controversy surrounding undercover videos exposing the sale of aborted baby parts.  The Centre for Medical Progress has released…

Anti-euthanasia campaigners have called on Ireland’s media to avoid groupthink and follow the example of Britain’s newspapers in facilitating a relatively balanced debate on assisted suicide.  Speaking in advance of a September 11 House of Commons debate on an assisted suicide bill being introduced by Labour MP Robert Marris, Hope Ireland director Dr Kevin Fitzpatrick…

Debate continues about how to help the divorced and remarried, writes Cindy Wooden

The founder of the Legion of Mary stands “as a model of robust lay leadership in the Church” according to Archbishop Diarmuid Martin. Speaking at Mass in the parish of St Peter’s in Phibsborough, which was followed by the dedication of a room in honour of Frank Duff, Archbishop Martin said the “lack of trust…

Britain will soon debate assisted suicide, writes Paul Keenan

A leading Irish bishop has said he would welcome a “pastoral solution” which would allow divorced and remarried Catholics to receive Communion. Bishop Kevin Doran of Elphin told The Irish Catholic he would support such a solution provided it was in keeping with the Church’s teaching on the indissolubility of marriage. Responding to the challenges…

Philadelphia seminary sees record number of new entrants St Charles Borromeo seminary in Philadelphia has received its largest class of seminarians in a decade, with 20 of the 52 seminarians coming from the Archdiocese of Philadephia alone.  The rise in numbers is all more striking since it comes before the archdiocese, home to 1.5 million Catholics, launches a major new initiative to…