Staff Reporter The Archbishop of Tuam has called on parishioners to seek to raise awareness of the plight of Christians in the Middle East and North Africa in the face of an “appalling lack of protest”. “In some cases, this persecution has taken the form of ethnic cleansing that has seen Christian communities, some of…

54% of German priests go to Confession no more than once a year, and 42% don’t pray – outside of Mass or the Divine Office – even once a day, according to a survey released by the German bishops’ conference.  8,600 German Catholics including about 4,200 priests from 22 dioceses, were surveyed between 2012 and…

Lay visitation teams have completed the impressive task of calling to over 4,000 homes in Arklow, in an initiative to encourage practising Catholics and to welcome lapsed Catholics back to the Church. The project in the Co. Wicklow town was organised by the Parish Pastoral Council, with the help of the Legion of Mary in…

Pope to visit Cuba enroute to the USA in September Pope Francis will visit Cuba on his way to the United States this September, according to Vatican spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi, who said the Holy Father has “received and accepted the invitation from the civil authorities and bishops of Cuba”. Visiting both countries on the…

Wartime documents belonging to an Irish priest known as “the saint of the trenches” have been made digitally available for researchers worldwide. In the first ever collaboration between UCD Digital Library and the Archive of the Archdiocese of Dublin, the papers and diaries of Dublin priest Canon Francis Gleeson, who served as chaplain to the…

To celebrate the 14th centenary of the death of St Columban, members of the Friends of St Columban are planning to run the Women’s Mini Marathon to raise money for homeless charities. The Friends of St Columban is a group of lay people and Columban missionaries inspired by St Columban’s love of Christ, who try…

Kidney transplant recipients Joshua O’Halloran (16) from Galway, Luke Concannon (9) from Lucan, Co. Dublin, Salem Alhag (12), the 100th transplant recipient and Courtney Kealy, (17) from Slane, Co. Meath, the first transplant recipient, celebrate Temple Street Children’s University Hospital’s 100th kidney transplant.  Photo: Conor McCabe Photography

This year marks the 20th Bealtaine festival. Organised by Age & Opportunity the annual festival celebrates creativity as we age and is believed to be the world’s first of its kind. Bealtaine has grown to be one of the country’s biggest arts festivals, with an estimate 120,000 people taking part in this event. All across…

The Minister for Health has apologised to parents in the support group Every Life Counts for his remark that unborn children with life-limiting conditions were “dead” in the womb. Speaking in the Dáil last December on a private members’ bill tabled by Clare Daly, Minister Leo Varadkar expressed support for abortion in cases of fatal…

The Synod Hall in Armagh was packed to capacity as people gathered for a special evening: “Great people, great stories, come and listen.” The evening, organised by the Diocesan Vocations Team, saw two people sharing their vocation stories. The first speaker was Bro. Ronan Lennon, a St John of God Brother who has worked in…