A euthanasia group was behind Britain’s commission on assisted suicide, writes Greg Daly A.S. Byatt caused a stir some years back when she publicly disparaged the phenomenal success of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books, describing them as little more than a comfortable patchwork of clichés, unworthy of comparison with the writings of such fantasists…
The Relics of the Cross, stolen from Holy Cross Abbey in Co. Tipperary last October, were this week returned to the abbey undamaged following a successful Garda recovery operation. Holy Cross PP Fr Tom Breen said that parishioners and pilgrims are ‘overjoyed’ by the news. ‘It is wonderful that the relics have been recovered…
An Irish nun has been named as one of the top ten people of the year by Inside the Vatican, a monthly Catholic news magazine. Sr Patricia Murray IBVM was honoured for her work through the Solidarity With South Sudan (SSS) project. Established by religious from 170 Catholic congregations and led by Sr Murray,…
Pro-life campaigners are putting pressure on Fine Gael to keep the party’s pre-election promise not to introduce abortion legislation. The Minister for Health James Reilly announced at the weekend the members of the 14-member ‘expert group’ from the medical, legal and nursing profession which will report to the Government on the issue within six…
Standing in a room filled almost floor to ceiling with chocolate certainly puts a strain on a girl’s new year’s resolution. However, self control is needed because these goodies are destined to be distributed through meals on wheels, food kitchens and food banks to Dublin’s most needy. This chocolate fantasy room was only a small…
The al Shabaab group may at last be fighting for its own survival, writes Paul Keenan Has the al Shabaab group in Somalia shot itself in the foot? The answer seems to be ‘maybe’ based on events since The Irish Catholic last reported (The enemy from within IC 11/8/11) on a group that has…
Letter from Rome The new head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith will be appointed in April, writes Andrea Tornielli Next week, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith will hold a plenary session in the Palace of the Holy Office. Everyone expected the name of Cardinal William Levada’s successor…
Senior Vatican officials will hear first hand of the experiences of Irish abuse victims at a major conference in Rome next week aimed at extending better Church guidelines worldwide to ensure abuse allegations are handled properly. Marie Collins, who was abused by Dublin priest Fr Paul McGennis, was one of the first people to come…
The national seminary at Maynooth is to clearly separate the seminary environment from the wider university community The Irish Catholic understands. In a move that will be seen in some quarters as a nod to the past when seminary life was completely separated from the outside world, it is believed that the changes are…
Coinciding in a year when Ireland will play in the European Football Championships and will host international athletics teams training for the Olympics in Britain, organisers of the International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) are incorporating sports into their programme and facilitating fans attending the Congress to keep up-to-date with sporting highlights. ”Wouldn’t it be interesting…
Mags Gargan
Michael Kelly
Paul Keenan