Pro-family campaigners have warned that a proposed referendum to amend the Constitution would be a “further downgrading of the importance of marriage to society”. The Government announced on Tuesday that it intended to ask the people to amend Article 41 of the Constitution to provide for a wider concept of Family; and delete Article 41.2…
A bomb attack that saw four killed and dozens injured at a university Mass in the southern Philippines has “shocked” the Church there according to an Irish Columban living in Manila. Media reports state the December 3 explosion caused panic among dozens of students and teachers in a gymnasium where Mass was taking place, at…
A week-long conference in Kilkenny, underlined how “distinct and unique” Catholic education is in Ireland, at a time when it is frequently under the spotlight. The joint initiative of St Kieran’s College and the University of Notre Dame Australia (UNDA) brought together education leaders and teachers for a conference on ‘International Perspectives on Forming Catechesis/…
Belfast’s Catholic community will be gathering bright and early to celebrate ‘Misa de Gallo’ or the ‘Rooster Mass’, with St Vincent De Paul parish priest in Ligoniel, Fr Vincent Cushnahan describing it as a “beautiful” Filipino tradition illuminating the Church in Ireland. “In the Philippines there’s an old tradition whereby families would gather the nine…
There were scenes of jubilation and delight at Dublin’s Mercy College in Coolock with past pupils and former staff from the last 60 years coming together to mark the six decades since the school was established. Displays of photos over the past 60 years were on show. Dr Patricia Dwyer, principal since 2003, thanked current…
‘Clear signs of hope’ in vocations crisis The 36 men who attended a vocations weekend in Maynooth are a “clear sign of hope” during Ireland’s vocations crisis, Bishop Alphonsus Cullinan has said. Speaking at a panel discussion in Queen’s University Belfast, Bishop Cullinan said that “the level of interest meant that the event was oversubscribed”.…
A deadly bomb that exploded during a Mass December 3 killed at least four people and injured dozens at a university in a predominantly Muslim city in southern Philippines. Media reports that the explosion caused panic among dozens of students and teachers in a gymnasium where Mass was taking place, at Mindanao State University in…
Laura Madrigal-Estebas About 220 people gathered in a fabulous setting of the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Blanchardstown, Dublin, to attend an inspiring conference called ‘Parishes Caring for Creation’ at the end of November. A collaboration between Trócaire, the Archdiocese of Dublin and the Laudato Si’ Movement, this conference aimed to help parish communities respond to…
Dana Rosemary Scallon performed her new song Light the Fire, about St Patrick’s work to spread the Faith in Ireland, to a packed Long Tower Church, Derry, on November 26. Ms Scallon was performing as part of the Derry parish’s annual novena, which takes place over nine Sundays before Christmas. The Irish singer shared her…
The pastoral centre of Christ the King Cathedral in Loikaw, Myanmar, was bombed on November 26 and occupied by the Burmese military the next day, according to reporting by Agenzia Fides, the news arm of Pontifical Mission Societies. Though no one was killed in the bombing, the pastoral centre’s ceiling collapsed and Bishop Celso Ba Shwe…
Ruadhán Jones