Bishop Kevin Doran has announced that the Diocese of Elphin has begun to plan for an “exciting” new development for Catholic second level education. The bishop unveiled plans for a new amalgamated second level school in Athlone which will cater initially for 500 students with the hope of expanding to 800 over a five-year period.…

Pope Francis has called the cover-up of abuse by bishops a “terrible thing”, explaining that this was why he had earlier in Philadelphia said that “the crimes and sins of the sexual abuse of children must no longer be held in secret”, pledging “the promise of accountability for all”. The Pope was speaking during an…

However, a moral theologian has described the issue of as “a distraction”

The Irish Missionary Union (IMU) is to host a number of lectures on ‘modern mission’ this month. Celebrating 50 years since the publication of Ad Gentes (To the peoples) which set a new agenda for Catholic missionary activity for the rest of the century, the IMU will host seminars every Thursday throughout October. The talks…

Catechesis and evangelisation are vocations for all Christians, an Indian catechetics conference has been told. Opening the conference in Chennai, at which the National Catechetical Directory was presented, Simdega’s Bishop Vincent Barwa said: “A Christian has a big heart, ready to bring the message of salvation to every corner of the world. We ask God…

Hopes have been raised that Pope Francis will visit Ireland as part of the celebrations of the ‘World Meeting of Families’ in 2018. The Pontiff announced at the weekend that he had chosen Dublin to host the international gathering, which takes place every three years. Popes have, with only two exceptions, traditionally presided at the…

Catholics working in the field of medicine are set to discuss current medical ethical issues at an upcoming meeting. The Irish Catholic Doctors Association (ICDA) are inviting doctors, nurses, pharmacists, ethicists and students to their lecture on medical ethics on October 17. The lecture takes place at Jury’s Inn, Parnell Street in Dublin at 2pm…

Pope Francis greets Dublin Archbishop Diarmuid Martin during the closing Mass of the World Meeting of Families on Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia. The 2018 World Meeting of Families is to be held in Dublin. Photo: CNS

Knock Shrine has launched a series of faith renewal events. The new programme of events are part of Knock Shrine’s Witness to Hope project, which aims to put Knock at the centre of faith renewal in Ireland, as well as promoting the shrine as an internationally renowned site for pilgrimage.  The initial programme includes one-day…

Soccer star Jack Grealish consulted with his local parish priest before making the decision to declare for England, according to reports. The 20-year-old Aston Villa footballer had been stalling on his decision for some time whether to play for the Republic of Ireland or its neighbour. Grealish, who was born in Birmingham but has Irish…