Leader-in-waiting of the Church in Ireland Archbishop Eamon Martin has taken up a new lead role in the Church’s communications strategy. Dr Martin, who is currently shadowing Cardinal Seán Brady as coadjutor Archbishop of Armagh, spearheaded the Church’s campaign against Enda Kenny’s recent abortion legislation. He has undertaken a number of high-profile media interviews in…

RTÉ is gearing up for another season of religious discussion programming. Beyond Belief returns to RTÉ One TV with a new series of six Monday night programmes beginning on September 23 at 11.15pm.   In this series, Mick Peelo and a panel discuss a range of stories from a moral, ethical and religious perspective.  …

A new cross-church campaign to tackle sectarianism has been established in the North following a summer of parade related violence.   The initiative entitled ‘Hope and History – Building Peace in Northern Ireland’ is inviting members of the churches to sign up to a statement that gives positive encouragement to those who are committed to…

There has been widespread condemnation after a Catholic church was damaged in a petrol bomb attack in Newtownabbey, Co. Antrim.   Paint was also thrown at St Mary’s Star of the Sea church on the Shore Road.   Presbyterian Moderator Dr Rob Craig has condemned the “blatantly sectarian” attack as “despicable”.   “The cross-community condemnation…

The 100th anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising will be a hollow celebration if the Government continues savage cuts to the most vulnerable, the Society of St Vincent de Paul has warned.   Amid talk of further deep budget cuts, the SVP, the country’s largest charity, says the coalition is failing to give people hope…

Pope Francis has appealed to the US not to launch military strikes against Syria as the Vatican intensifies efforts to find a diplomatic solution to the crisis.  Tens of thousands of people answered the call by Pope Francis for a ‘cry for peace’ in Syria by attending a vigil in St Peter’s Square at the…

Parish collections to fund last year’s International Eucharistic Congress raised more than €4m to cover the event, final accounts show.   Figures, which have just been finalised and lodged with the Companies Registration Office, show that overall the Church spent €9.5m on the lead-up to and during the week-long event.   Collections  Funds for the…

African hymns echoed through the Church of the Resurrection in Killarney, Co. Kerry last Saturday during a special ceremony which saw three men make their first vows as Presentation Brothers.   Sebastian Dery (26), Leonard Derbie (33) and McSimon Azenda (34) made vows of poverty, chastity and obedience before Brother Martin Kenneally, the Congregation Leader…

Following the announcement of the latest summer appointments, a priest in the Diocese of Meath has taken the title of youngest priest in Ireland from a Dublin colleague.   Bishop Michael Smith appointed seven parish priests in his clerical changes, which come into effect on September 29, among which Fr Patrick Donnelly (33), currently curate…

So far, in contemplating what appears to be imminent death of the mainstream print media, we have tended to adopt an apocalyptic demeanour. And, yes, there are many potentially ominous aspects of what is happening and likely to happen next. The death of the newspaper may well, under certain headings, have drastic consequences for the…