The dictatorship of President Daniel Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, has confiscated a cloistered monastery and arrested 20 people for activities related to Holy Week in Nicaragua. The Trappist sisters of Nicaragua, who left the country in February after 22 years of service, reported April 11 that the government verbally informed the…
An AI study of conflict in the North shows religion is not to blame, writes Ruadhán Jones Artificial Intelligence (AI) may be seen as a threat to humanity, but a new study shows how it can be used to tackle real-life conflicts. Conducted by the Cambridge University’s interfaith Woolf Institute, a study of conflict in…
The visit of US President Joe Biden is an opportunity to highlight how Government policy has led to “wrecked families” in rural parishes, according to a Mayo priest. Fr Kieran Holmes in Ballina parish spoke to The Irish Catholic ahead of President Biden’s visit to St Muredach’s Cathedral on April 14, where baptismal records of…
Independent TD for Laois-Offaly Carol Nolan has asked the Minister for Education for a review of all SPHE recommended reading lists to ensure that the material being recommended to children is age-appropriate. Deputy Nolan said she saw a “significant increase” in the number of parents contacting her about the inappropriate content of books on recommended…
Plans by Government to introduce a free hot meal in primary schools to all children is not a good use of money, according to the director of Social Justice Ireland Fr Sean Healy SMA. Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphrey made the announcement after publishing an independent evaluation of the School Meals Programme – which…
Easter hope is hard to see for survivors of an earthquake that left 50,000 dead and around 1.5 million homeless in Syria and Turkey two months ago, an Irish missionary based in Aleppo has said. Christians in the Syrian city celebrated the Easter triduum amid the ruins of homes destroyed by the earthquake and 12…
The murder of a Romanian woman in prostitution in Limerick is a reminder that the sex trade is “inherently violent, dangerous and harmful”, Irish charity Ruhama has said. Their statement comes after Geila Ibram, a 27-year-old woman from Romania, was found dead at a residence in Limerick on Tuesday, April 4. Habib Shamel, an Afghan…
Russell Crowe, star of recently-released The Pope’s Exorcist that was partly filmed in Ireland, said he thinks Ireland still has “a deep affection” for the Church. “When we were shooting, for sure, we were aware of being respectful of people’s beliefs,” the Hollywood star said in an interview coinciding with the film’s release over the…
Catholics must promote the common good over guns, a Maynooth professor has said, after five people were killed and eight injured in a shooting in bank in Kentucky in the US. “Excessive individualism” regarding rights to bear arms is “out of sync” with Catholic anthropology, Tobias Winright, a professor of moral theology at St Patrick’s…
Faith-based education is needed in the North to promote forgiveness, justice and compassion, a Belfast-born nun and principal has said. Her comments come as politicians and activists push for integrated – secular, State run – education in the North, calling faith-based schools “segregated” and accusing them of fostering division between Protestants and Catholics. However, Sr…
Ruadhán Jones
Chai Brady