Bishop Brendan Leahy was joined by the Minister for Education Jan O’Sullivan to formally open St Munchin’s College in Limerick after an extension and refurbishment. St Munchin’s is the ‘Diocesan Catholic Secondary School’ for Limerick and is one of the oldest Catholic schools in Ireland, having been founded in 1796 for young Limerick men entering…

Knock airport is boasting a record number of passengers in 2014, with more than 700,000 flying in and out. The west of Ireland airport registered a total of 703,324 passengers last year, 38,000 more than in 2013 and an increase of more than 5%. August 2014 was the airport’s busiest ever month with 102,774 passengers…

Archbishop Eamon Martin has initiated a period of reflection and discernment in the Archdiocese of Armagh in preparation for the General Synod on the Vocation and Mission of the Family in the Church and Contemporary World, which is to take place in October. At the conclusion of the extraordinary synod in 2014, Pope Francis decided…

The leader of the Church in Ireland has insisted he will mount a “robust” defence of the right to life of mothers and unborn babies diagnosed with fatal foetal abnormalities in a meeting with the North’s Justice Minister this week. Archbishop Eamon Martin also urged Catholics to question their politicians over where they stand on…

Pope Francis has confirmed that the United States government intends to close its controversial detention centre at Guantanamo Bay. Speaking at his annual address to the diplomatic corps, he said: “I note with satisfaction the intention of the United States to close the Guantanamo detention facilities, while acknowledging the generous willingness of several countries to…

Staff reporter Controversial cleric Fr Tony Flannery has said he would be “surprised” if his case was discussed at a high-profile meeting of Vatican officials in Hungary this week. The outspoken priest, who was suspended from ministry in 2012, said he would be “very happy” if Irish bishops attending the key meeting raised his case. He…

Pope Francis has expressed his sympathy to those bereaved by last week’s terror attack at the offices of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.  A telegram from Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, to Cardinal André Vingt-Trois, Archbishop of Paris, said Pope Francis “joins in prayer with the pain of the bereaved families and the…

As incidents of racism increase, Irish parishes are urged to be more welcoming

The late Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero was a martyr, a panel of theologians advising the Vatican’s Congregation for Saints’ Causes has ruled, unanimously declaring he was killed “in hatred for the Faith”. As a miracle is not needed for the beatification of a martyr, the decision is an important step towards the beatification of the…

New charity laws here which require dioceses and parishes to publish financial reports will bring greater transparency to the sector, the head of an agency charged with policing the laws here has said. Úna Ní Dhubhghaill, Chief Executive Designate of the Charities Regulatory Authority (CRA) told The Irish Catholic the new laws present a “real…