An English Catholic bishop put people at risk by promoting a priest with a history of grooming children as his cathedral dean and by cultivating an “inappropriate” friendship with a convicted paedophile, a report has said. The 57-page report by the Catholic Safeguarding Standards Agency, the Catholic child protection agency of the Catholic Church in…
The Diocese of Down and Connor, Co. Antrim, celebrated the centenary of Apostolic Work on June 17, marking their 100 years of supporting missionary priests, sisters and lay people in many countries around the world including Albania, Botswana, El Salvador, Malawi, Papua New Guinea, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Tanzania and Zimbabwe to name just a few.…
400-year-old church emerges from the waters in Mexico Due to an intense heat wave and drought that has spread throughout various parts of Mexico, a more than 400-year-old Catholic church has completely emerged from the waters in the state of Chiapas. The church of the disappeared town of San Juan Quechula, dedicated to the apostle…
Targeting asylum seekers ‘unacceptable’ The Irish Inter-Church Committee has spoken out against “the targeting of people seeking protection in Ireland” in a statement released on World Refugee Day. Following multiple incidents of protests aimed to intimidate of asylum seekers, the committee, which represents 16 Churches in Ireland, made an appeal calling for an end to…
Pope Francis and Brazil’s President Lula embrace during visit Pope Francis said a meeting with Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva at the Vatican June 21 took place in an atmosphere of “great sympathy and friendship,” the Vatican said. The two can be seen embracing in photos shared by the Brazilian president’s photographer. Pope…
The Church in Ireland is in serious need of radical restructuring, the country’s newest bishop has warned. Paying tribute to the heroic work of priests, Bishop of Ardagh and Clonmacnois Paul Connell also insisted that more focus needs to be put on encouraging young men in parishes to consider a vocation to the priesthood. “Obviously,…
The possible ordination of women as deacons and the admission of married men to the priesthood will be key themes during a month-long synod gathering in Rome in October, the Vatican revealed this week. The preparatory document, known in Latin as an instrumentum laboris, brings together a number of themes and concerns that have emerged during…
Amendments to the Minister of Religion visa scheme that address criticisms have been warmly welcomed by missionary bodies and congregations that often bring religious overseas to Ireland as part of their work. This paper previously reported that religious and missionary bodies involved in negotiations with the Department of Justice were dissatisfied with the scheme, and…
Organisers of the Rally for Life, scheduled for Dublin next week, have called on TDs to listen to growing public concern from voters about a push to scrap the three-day wait before abortion. The three-day period of reflection was described by pro-life doctors last year as giving women “time to think”. Data released to Carol Nolan TD…
The lead chaplain for prisons in the North of Ireland has said they have found no grounds for a report that Catholic prisoners are experiencing prejudice from members of staff in a Co. Antrim prison. Speaking to The Irish Catholic, the lead chaplain to the Northern Ireland Prison Service Fr Stephen McBrearty said that in…
Chai Brady