Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín has criticised as “reckless” Government inaction when it comes to protecting children from often-violent pornography. This comes following the publication of a study earlier this week showing the link between children watching pornography and sexual violence. Speaking on the issue, the Meath West TD said that pornography is “distorting children’s understanding…
A new film from EWTN Ireland telling the story of a Catholic priest in hiding during the 16th and 17th centuries has received a blessing from Pope Francis. The film, Faith of Our Fathers, was shown at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome earlier this month and was well received by viewers…
Knock Shrine’s basilica was full with young people as they attended the Donal Walsh day on Thursday, May 11. The day marked the 10th anniversary of the Kerry teenager’s death after a battle with cancer. Donal Walsh touched many lives through his writings, public appearances and fundraising, and the foundation named after him continues to…
The Pope’s new ambassador in Dublin has presented his credentials to President Michael D. Higgins. Archbishop Luis Mariano Montemayor, the new Apostolic Nuncio, presented the documents appointing him to the role at a ceremony at Áras an Uachtaráin on Thursday. The prelate was accompanied to and from Áras an Uachtaráin by an Escort of Honour…
After hundreds of public prayers for peace in Ukraine and 443 days after Russia launched an all-out war on the Eastern European country, Pope Francis welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the Vatican. The topics of the conversation May 13 included “the humanitarian and political situation in Ukraine caused by the ongoing war”, the Vatican…
Bikers hold annual memorial service The Annual Bikers Memorial Mass was celebrated in a packed Sacred Heart Church, Clones, Co. Monaghan, on May 5. Fr Stephen Joyce, Scotstown, celebrated Mass in the church with six motorbikes at the foot of the altar. He was joined by Fr Tony Conlon and Fr Jim Moore, while Church…
An investigation by the Spanish newspaper El Pais has revealed that the Spanish Jesuit priest Alfonso Pedrajas Moreno, who died in 2009, sexually abused as many as 85 boys and adolescents in the 1970s and 1980s and recorded the incidents in a secret diary as “blunders”, and that the Jesuits covered it up. A nephew…
The loss of thousands of jobs from Ireland’s tourism sector is “very frightening” for families and communities, mostly rural and coastal, who are very reliant on the sector for jobs and income, parishes have warned. The warning comes after the Government estimated 10,000 jobs were lost due to the lack of hotel accommodation for tourists…
The scale of the persecution of Catholics under the regime of Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua has been laid bare by a new report chronicling 529 attacks in the last five years alone. Jesuit Fr Kevin O’Higgins, who spent decades working in Latin America, told The Irish Catholic the report is “vital” in highlighting the crisis…
In light of a changing culture in Ireland, priests have said that engaged couples should be made aware of the fact that the Sacrament of Marriage can take place as its own rite, without requiring the celebration of the Eucharist. This comes following the continued general decline of religious weddings in Ireland, with two in…
Ruadhán Jones
Chai Brady