Is the tide turning for Egypt’s Christians? If the Middle East contains any lessons over the last few years, it is that matters in the region can turn on a hair. Sadly, too, it has been instructive to watch the precarious fortunes of minority Christian communities whose long histories in nations have guaranteed them nothing…

The Pro Life Campaign (PLC) has accused pro-choice activists who brought abortion pills which are illegal in the Republic across the border from Belfast to Dublin this week, of caring more about abortion than women’s health. “This appears to be an initiative more concerned with garnering publicity for the pro-choice cause, rather than a genuine…

 If you followed the recently concluded Synod of Bishops at the Vatican, a meeting that brought together nearly 200 members of the hierarchy for discussion focused on the theme of family, you’re justified in having a case of whiplash after two weeks of high drama. A preliminary report suggested a stunning shift in the Church’s…

RTÉ have launched new religious programming for the radio and television schedules in November. A new season of programmes on RTÉ One to mark November as the month of All Souls under the title ‘Once in a Lifetime’ will explore attitudes towards death in Ireland. As part of this, the documentary A Parting Gift secures…

More than 100 Muslim leaders – clerics and laypeople alike – have signed on to a letter criticising the Middle East Muslim military group ISIS. In the 17-page letter, the leaders quote extensively from the Quran, the Muslim scriptures, to rebuke ISIS' tactics and actions. Since the letter was issued, more than 125 Muslim leaders…

Call for Church’s doctrinal watchdog to investigate Ms Gallagher for alleged heresy

Pope Francis has called for abolition of the death penalty as well as life imprisonment He has also denounced what he called a "penal populism" that promises to solve society's problems by punishing crime instead of pursuing social justice. "It is impossible to imagine that states today cannot make use of another means than capital…

An Iraqi seminarian has proven his credentials after he heroically saved the Blessed Sacrament from a local Church before Islamic State militants ISIS descended on the village of Karamlesh. “Until the very last minute, the Pashmerga [the Kurdish armed forces protecting the villages] were telling us it was safe,” the 24-year-old seminarian, Martin Baani, told…

‘Covering up the truth always comes at a cost’ says head of a leading charity dealing with victims of child abuse