In April of this year Parish Cells of Evangelisation received permanent recognition from the Pontifical Council for the Laity. To bestow this recognition Pope Francis issued an invitation to all cell people from around the world to meet with him in the Vatican earlier this month. Over 5,000 people from all over the world, 124…

For nine Mondays and Tuesdays, starting on Monday, September 28 in St Senan’s Church Kilrush and on Tuesday, September 29 in SS John & Paul Church Shannon, people will gather each week at the Shrine of Matt Talbot, to pray and intercede for people suffering or sharing in the life of addictions. Now in its…

Mid-East Christians feel ‘forgotten’ by the West

The Askeaton/Ballysteen Parish Pastoral Council in Co. Limerick is hosting a film festival to run over four consecutive Wednesday nights.  Films by their nature can be informative, uplifting and reflective and with this in mind the parish group has chosen to show four films with various life themes: The Way, The Mission, Amazing Grace and…

Well-wisher Orla Cashell takes a ‘selfie’ at the weekend diaconate ordination of Bro. Martin Bennett OFM Cap. The ordaining prelate was Bishop Fiachra Ó Ceallaigh and Bro. Martin is pictured flanked by (left to right) Regina McCarrick, Francis’ O Brien, Natalie Doherty, Fr. Sean Kelly OFM Cap., Gerard and Anne Gallagher and Anna Keegan.

Earlier this month a number of priests, religious and laity from the Diocese of Ossory and beyond joined with Bishop Séamus Freeman SAC at St John’s Church, Kilkenny for a Mass of Thanksgiving to honour 48 years of ministry at Peace in Christ, the Ossory Diocesan Retreat House. The large congregation gave thanks for the…

There has been “a huge reservoir of enthusiasm” for this weekend’s National Eucharistic Congress, according to Elphin’s Bishop Kevin Doran. Speculating that this passion has its roots in the 2012 International Eucharistic Congress, Dr Doran says there’s a striking contrast between the run-in to the Dublin congress, when “people asked whether it was a good…

The European Union “was born to knock down walls, not to build them” according to Italy’s Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, criticising Hungary’s erection of a border fence to regulate the movements of asylum seekers.  “If you stop the flow in that direction, we have to pose the problem of how to respond to the urge…

Staff reporter The Pro-Life Campaign has insisted that attempts to remove constitutional protections for unborn children is a media-driven crusade. The group was responding to a Behaviours and Attitudes survey on abortion, published in the Irish Examiner, claiming that 64% of farmers polled favour dismantling the 8th Amendment to allow for abortion on wider grounds. Dr…

Christian efforts to ensure that Nepal’s new constitution would confirm the state’s secular nature have been successful after the country’s constituent assembly rejected proposals to introduce an article identifying Nepal as a “Hindu religious country” into the constitution.  The new constitution was approved on September 16 and came into effect on September 20, replacing an…