Irish bishops are set to discuss controversial Achill House of Prayer founder Christina Gallagher at a meeting next week, The Irish Catholic understands.  It is understood that the bishops, who will gather at Maynooth next week for this year’s autumn General Meeting, have been sent a briefing document on the movement behind the self-proclaimed visionary.…

Pope Francis has picked Bro. Guy Consolmagno SJ as the new director of the Vatican Observatory. A planetary scientist who has studied meteorites and asteroids with the observatory since 1993, Bro. Consolmagno studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and lectured there and at Harvard College Observatory before joining the Jesuit order in 1989.  In…

Cobh parish held a candlelit vigil on Sunday to remember the thousands of refugees who have lost their lives at sea and the suffering of those fleeing conflict in Syria and Iraq.  The event, organised by Cobh solicitor Don Ryan in association with Trócaire and Cobh Cathedral, followed a Mass celebrated by Bishop William Crean.…

Kerry priest upset at Govt permission

Lay visitation teams are setting out two-by-two this week to call to all the homes in a Co. Derry parish, in an initiative to reach out and welcome people back to the Church.  The aim of the ‘Big Invite’ is to offer a personal invitation to return to the Faith to the more than 80%…

Pope Francis has urged Europe to look to how refugees offer the continent new life, while warning against the dangers of Islamist extremists hiding amongst genuine refugees. He urged Europe to “retake a leadership role in the concert of nations” and to “once again become the Europe which determines the path to follow, because it…

Anticipation is building for the papal trip, writes Paul Keenan

American television host and actor Mario Lopez has described Pope Francis as the “biggest star you could get” ahead of his trip to the US next week. The former Saved by the Bell actor said the Pope was “universally respected” and was considered by Catholics and non-Catholics alike as a “spiritual leader”. “He’s provoked conversation…

The leader of the Chaldean Catholic Church has advised European countries against letting sentiment guide their reactions to the crisis in the Middle East, and asked them not to prioritise Christians when accepting refugees. The Chaldean Patriarch of Baghdad, Louis Raphael I, has warned in an interview that there is a real risk of the…

The Bishop of Derry has appealed to politicians in the North to set aside their tribal differences and concentrate on tackling real issues affecting everyday lives.    The power-sharing executive in Belfast is facing collapse over allegations that the IRA still exists and killed one of its former members, Kevin McGuigan, last month. Sinn Féin…