Cardinal Kurt Koch January 5 and 6 marked the 60th anniversary of the meeting in Jerusalem between Pope Paul VI and Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras. It was the first meeting between a pope and an ecumenical patriarch since the one between Pope Eugene IV and Patriarch Joseph II during the Council of Ferrara (1438-1439). This important…
Category: News
RTÉ fields article questioning Irish language’s religious roots
An article shared by RTÉ Brainstorm sparked controversy among some readers after it asked whether the religious nature of common Irish phrases will pose a problem in a multicultural, secular society. The article by Dr Peter Weakliam of Fiontar and Scoil na Gaeilge at Dublin City University acknowledged the Catholic roots of common Irish phrases…
Senator asks Govt why it’s hiding information before referenda
Independent Senator Ronan Mullen has blasted Minister for Equality Roderic O’Gorman and his department for what he perceives is an unwillingness to disclose important information concerning the referenda in advance of it. Senator Mullen asserts that key insights from a wide-range of strands in society have not been released and lawmakers are suffering as a…
Armed men kidnap six nuns in Haiti
Six nuns from the Congregation of the Sisters of St Anne were kidnapped January 19 while traveling on a bus in the country’s capital, Port-au-Prince, according to the Haitian Conference of Religious. Other passengers on the bus also were taken in the abduction, the conference said in a statement. “These many kidnappings fill the consecrated…
Nicaragua cancels legal personhood of Catholic and evangelical NGOs
In a new attack against the Catholic Church and other Christians in Nicaragua, the dictatorship of President Daniel Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, has cancelled the legal personhood of several religious congregations and evangelical groups. On January 16, the Ministry of the Interior published in the official government newspaper La Gaceta the…
Prelate criticises Justice minister on family reunification policy
Bishop Alan McGuckian of Raphoe wrote to Justice Minister Helen McEntee criticising policy that sees some immigrants unable to bring family members to Ireland as they earn less than €30,000. People outside the European Economic Area do not have the same entitlements regarding bringing family to Ireland, with one of the conditions being the salary…
The Chosen comes to Irish cinemas February 1
Global sensation The Chosen is coming to Irish cinemas from February 1, with the first two episodes of season four set for the big screen. More than 600 million people have watched the multi-series life of Christ and director Dallas Jenkins felt it would do fans a disservice if it didn’t get big screen treatment.…
The Catholic difference: Standing with Ukraine
My friend and colleague Carl Trueman recently observed that “the West is no longer a consortium of serious cultures”. To which I am sorely tempted to add, “…or serious polities”. The two are connected, the cultural decay of the West being a not-insignificant factor in our descent into political infantilism. The exploration of that connection…
Human rights activists: Senegal must hold free and fair elections
Dakar (KNA) Human rights activists have called on Senegal to comply with fair conditions for the presidential election on 25 February. Instead, Senegal’s authorities are cracking down on the opposition, media and civil society in the run-up to the elections, criticised the human rights organisation Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Monday. According to the opposition…
Poland’s church wants to mediate in dispute over imprisoned politicians
Warsaw (KNA) The Catholic Church in Poland is intervening in the conflict between two imprisoned politicians from the right-wing conservative opposition party PiS and the new government in Warsaw. The Bishops’ Conference announced on Wednesday evening that its chairman, Archbishop Stanislaw Gadecki, had written to both politicians offering to lobby Justice Minister Adam Bodnar for…




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Ruadhán Jones
George Weigel

