Friars ready for ‘Battle of Waterloo’ stance

A €3,000 fine on a pharmacist who refused to sell the morning-after pill has been ruled an infringement of his right to conscientious objection, Spain's Constitutional Court has ruled. The court cited freedoms of religion and conscience protected by article 16 of the Spanish constitution in ruling that the Seville pharmacist, fined by the city…

A mural depicts Pope Francis that reads in Spanish “young people, make some noise!” The Pope urged young Catholics to ‘stir things up, then fix things’. Photo:AP

A Vatican trial billed as a pivotal moment in Pope Francis’ papacy has been postponed after the defendant, the former papal nuncio to the Dominican Republic, was hospitalised.  66-year-old Jozef Wesolowski had been recalled from the Dominican Republic in 2013 against a background of rumoured abuse of teenage shoeshine boys, just weeks after Pope Francis…

The Defence Forces’ head chaplain has denied that political pressure played a role in the decision to have him replaced after 25 years of service. Msgr Eoin Thynne, who is currently awaiting his new appointment from Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin, insisted there is “no connection at all” between the two. In 2014, the Defence…

The Church is trying to broker a new peace, writes Paul Keenan

Staff Reporter Parishioners of Cooley Parish who have always wanted a spin in a popemobile are in for a treat later this month. A popemobile used by Pope St John Paul II will be on display in the Co. Louth parish as part of their 150th anniversary celebrations for Our Lady, Star of the Sea…

Pope Francis’ South American homecoming overflowed with memorable ideas and images, writes Greg Daly

Pressure is mounting on political parties to put an end to church gate collections. Urging politicians to be “consistent” and not to “pressurise” Mass-goers, Bishop Phoncie Cullinan encouraged political parties to “find alternative sources” of fundraising. The new Bishop of Waterford and Lismore warned that many people were “annoyed” at political parties collecting money outside…

Dr Andrew O’Connell, a columnist with The Irish Catholic, has been named as a First Place winner in the 2015 Catholic Press Awards in the United States for his contribution to the Best Regular Column on the Spiritual Life. Dr O’Connell’s contribution was a reflection on the canonisations of Pope John XXIII and Pope John…