Pope Francis receives a kite from a boy during a meeting with children of Italian prisoners in Paul VI hall at the Vatican May 30. (CNS photo/Paul Haring) 

The leader of the Church in Ireland has distanced himself from remarks made by controversial US Cardinal Raymond Burke about the recent marriage referendum. Cardinal Burke, who was the Vatican’s top legal adviser until he was demoted by Pope Francis last year, said the referendum result here was a “defiance of God”. “It’s just incredible.…

Burundi’s Catholic bishops have withdrawn permission from priests to serve on the country’s electoral council. In a statement a week before the parliamentary round of the national elections, the bishops explained that they had given a special dispensation for some priests to work with National Independent Electoral Council, but after careful analysis of the current…

Bishop Brendan Leahy of Limerick has said the synod in his diocese next year could be an opportunity to hear from gay people about the Church’s pastoral care for them. Noting that he would “take his lead from the consultation process” which is currently underway in the diocese, Bishop Leahy told The Irish Catholic the…

Western intervention is urgently needed to halt the “monstrosities” being perpetrated in Syria and Iraq, according to a bishop whose diocese is at the heart of the conflict. Even before the rise of Islamic State, Aleppo had seen some of the worst fighting in the Syrian Civil War, with Chaldean Bishop Antoine Audo claiming last…

Report reveals “a high level of compliance with the Church’s safeguarding standards”

Vatican media to modernise The Vatican urgently needs to modernise its media operations, according to head of a new papal commission on how Rome can better communicate with the Church and the world. Speaking at a London Mass to mark World Communications Day, Chris Patten, former chairman of the British Broadcasting Corporation Trust, explained that…

Former Jesuit Provincial says clergy and laity must face challenges together

Sinn Féin has joined forces with Alliance and the Green Party to block an attempt at tightening Northern Ireland’s abortion law. The parties jointly submitted a ‘petition of concern’ against a DUP amendment to the Justice Bill which was debated in the Assembly on Tuesday. The amendment would have made anyone who ended the life…

The Dáil should take the lead of the Northern Ireland Assembly and criminalise those who pay for sex, a leading charity that deals with exploited women has said. The Human Trafficking and Exploitation Act 2015, introduced in the North following Lord Maurice Morrow’s Bill and supported 81-10 in Stormont, includes a clause making the purchase…