Prelates overjoyed with Pope meeting

A European-wide petition calling for the protection of life from conception has reached one million signatures and aims to collect another 500,000 by November.   One of Us is one of the first projects to utilise the facility of the European Citizens’ Initiative established by the Lisbon Treaty and it is the asking the EU…

Tánaiste has come in for sharp criticism for apparently turning a blind eye to the persecution of minority Christian communities

Pope Francis offered words of encouragement to Rome’s priests this week, assuring them that recent and current scandals cannot overcome the Church’s holiness and urging them to keep their vocations alive through love of God.   The Pope made his remarks at a meeting with diocesan clergy in the Basilica of St John Lateran, the…

Vatican plans diplomatic drive for peace The Vaticanís new secretary of state plans to use the Churchís vast global diplomatic network to build peace.   Archbishop Pietro Parolin (pictured) said Pope Francis has already injected a new impetus into the Vaticanís Secretariat of State structure and given a new push for Church-led diplomacy.   The…

79 In percentage terms the number of US Catholics who view Pope Francis favourably, according to research conducted by the Pew Research Centre.   Just 4% of Catholics in America say they have an unfavourable view of the first Latin American Pope, while 17% express no opinion or say they have not heard enough about…

The president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has said the Catholic Health Association’s acceptance of rules governing women’s access to contraceptive coverage under the Affordable Care Act was “less than helpful” to the bishops’ effort to seek changes in the mandate. “We have not, ourselves as bishops, been able to arrive at…

On Sunday, September 1 nearly 80 pilgrims set off from the St Laurence Pastoral Area (Cathedral of the Most Holy Trinity, St John’s, Sacred Heart, Ss Joseph, Benildus and Mary, Killea, Crooke and Faithlegg) in the Diocese of Waterford & Lismore on pilgrimage to the Ardmore Monastic site to mark the Year of Faith.   First stop…

Last Saturday saw the Mayo International Choral Festival reach new heights as the 2014 syllabus was officially launched from the top of Croagh Patrick. Climbers representing Castlebar Parish Choir, Cill Aodáin Choral Society, Cór Mhaigh Eo, Mayo Male Voice Choir, the Moy Singers and Westport Choral Society became ‘musical mountaineers’ for the day and hit…

A series of autumn Year of Faith talks in the Diocese of Cloyne examining the documents of Vatican II begins in various locations throughout the diocese next month.   Bishop William Crean said the talks are “a wonderful opportunity” to explore some of the documents from Vatican II and people may be “surprised by the…