Clonard Youth and Young Adult Ministry gathered for their residential retreat at Greenhill YMCA in Newcastle, Co. Down over the weekend, as part of their Empower 2 Transform (E2T) programme, a regional partnership youth programme delivered across Northern Ireland through YMCA Ireland, Youth Link NI, Youth Initiatives NI, and Mencap NI. The E2T programme aims…
Clergy, laity, families and young people from across the Archdiocese of Armagh gathered over the weekend for a major congress focused on youth, family and faith, marking a significant moment in the diocese’s ongoing process of renewal. The Pope expressed particular encouragement for young people” Around 300 delegates took part in the three-day event at…
Ten years after Pope Francis issued a controversial document on families, Pope Leo XIV will meet with bishops from around the world to discuss the text’s application for today. Amoris Laetitia, Francis’ apostolic exhortation on marriage and the family, followed two contentious synods at the Vatican dominated by debate over divorce. Pope Leo on Thursday…
The Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, said last week that “the manipulation of God’s name to justify this and any other war is the gravest sin we can commit in this time.” The cardinal was commenting in response to the words of US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, who quoted Psalm 144 during…
Icelandic police have confirmed that they are examining comments made by a Catholic priest about homosexuality that may violate the country’s laws against conversion therapy. The Reykjavik police said they would investigate the remarks made by Fr Jakob Rolland to Icelandic state broadcaster RÚV in early March, to determine whether criminal proceedings should be opened…
Protestant and Catholic clergy are asking a federal judge to order that they be allowed to minister to immigrants in a holding facility at the headquarters of the Trump administration’s enforcement surge in Minnesota. US District Judge Jerry Blackwell will hear from attorneys for Minnesota branches of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the United…
From The Hobbit to The Lord of the Rings: J.R.R. Tolkien’s works have achieved cult status. This year’s International Tolkien Reading Day on 25 March will focus on the “unexpected heroes”. “In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit” – this unassuming sentence marked the beginning of a literary success story whose end remains unforeseeable to this day. The…
Irish Jesuit bishop says women are not second class citizens EXCLUSIVE REPORT The bishop of Down and Connor, Alan McGuckian has unequivocally said that he thinks the door to the female diaconate is shut and that his fellow Jesuit Pope Francis should have said so. The bishop made the comments during an interview with…
Cobh Parish, Co. Cork has launched an appeal for the parish community to contribute to the parish priests’ income through their annual collections, as they reported a “significant shortfall in the income from these specific collections.” The appeal, posted to the parish Facebook site on March 14, outlines the current allocation of parish funds, noting…
Former Taoiseach John Bruton’s deep Catholic faith shaped his politics, his intellectual life and his understanding of public service, his widow Finola Bruton told a gathering at Maynooth during an award ceremony honouring his legacy. Speaking at the event, Mrs Bruton reflected on the late statesman’s religious convictions: “For John, his faith was a given,…