A weekend event for ‘Creative Catholics’ – those involved or interested in the musical, visual, literary or dramatic arts – is being organised by a group called His Mad Plan. The theme of the weekend is ‘Beauty Will Save the World’ and it is designed to be a weekend of prayer, talks and workshops from…

The law of the Church should be seen as something that empowers and can help build community, according to a new study of canon law. A Novus Habitus Mentis: Canon Law as Empowerment of Communio with particular application to selected new ecclesial communities and associations by Sr M. Bonaventure Higgins was formally launched at All…

Schools are places of ‘security and shelter’

At least 14 people have been killed and 78 injured in two suicide bombings at churches in Pakistan’s most densely populated Christian area.  A security guard spotted one of the bombers trying to enter St John’s Catholic church in Youhanabad, Lahore, and forced him to detonate the bomb without entering the church, while at the…

Little daffodil buds Lola Pastrana (3) and Robyn Coleman (3) are gearing up for the Irish Cancer Society’s annual Daffodil Day on Friday, March 27 as demand for support and services increases with a growth in cancer incidence. For information on how to support the fundraising initiative visit www.cancer.ie/daffodilday or call 1850 60 60 60.…

The Church in Cuba is to build its first new church since the revolution in 1959. The new church will be in the centre of Sandino, the largest town in the western province of Pinar del Río, the Archdiocese of Havana has told Agenzia Fides. Local bishop, Dr Jorge Enrique Serpa Pérez says the church,…

Six Dominican friars have been ordained deacons by Dublin’s Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, in a ceremony that has bucked the trend of recent decades. The Irish Dominicans’ Prior Provincial, Fr Gregory Carroll confirmed that this was the largest ordination of deacons since 1972 and that the new deacons all entered the order after a specially designated…

British Christians feel under pressure to hide their faith at work, according to the largest public consultation ever conducted by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.  Almost 2,500 people took part in the survey on their experiences of religion and belief in the workplace and as the recipients of services.  The survey took place against…

A highly-acclaimed expert on Pope Francis has dismissed claims by former President Mary McAleese that Pope Francis carries a “residual element of misogyny” that blinds him to the risks of insufficiently empowering women in the Church. Mrs McAleese’s comments came in RTÉ’s Pope Francis, A Sinner, a Would You Believe? special this week in which…

L’Arche founder Jean Vanier has won this year’s Templeton Prize. The £1.1 million prize honours a living person who has made an exceptional contribution to affirming life’s spiritual dimension, and always exceeds the Nobel prizes in value, due to founder John Templeton’s belief that spiritual advances are no less important than those in other areas…