Biodiversity is a buzz word in Ireland today. In response, to the dramatic decline in the population of many species and the accompanying climate change, the spring general meeting of the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference put forward the goal to provide 30% of parish grounds by 2030 over to biodiversity. Glenstal Abbey School, Co. Limerick,…
Irish charity Goal reached 14.6 million people with programmes in emergency response, health, nutrition and food security, livelihoods, and WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) across the agency’s 14 countries of operation in Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, and Ukraine, according to their impact figures for 2022. The aid agency reached 3.6 million people in…
James and Grace were the most popular first names given to babies in the North, for births registered in 2022. This is one of the findings of the Baby Names 2022 statistics published this week by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency. The statistics show Grace has held the top spot as the most…
A charity that combats sexual exploitation has praised the conviction of a man in Kerry who assaulted two Brazilian women involved in prostitution. Following the sentencing of a man for two sexual assaults in Tralee and Killarney, Policy and Communications Officer Danielle McLaughlin of Ruhama described the conviction as “important”. Ms McLaughlin said it provided…
Pope Francis has updated the procedures for investigating allegations of sexual abuse or the cover up of abuse, specifying that the leaders of Vatican-recognised international Catholic lay associations and movements have the same responsibilities over their members that a bishop has over the priests of his diocese. The updated version of Vos Estis Lux Mundi…
Two new alternatives to burial and cremation fail to comply with the Catholic Church’s teaching on respect for the bodies of the dead, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Doctrine said. In a March 23 statement, the committee said it had evaluated human composting and alkaline hydrolysis, and concluded that both “fail to…
Malawi is still reeling from the consequences of Cyclone Freddy that hit the southeastern African country on March 12. The storm system caused flooding and mudslides that have resulted in the deaths of about 500 people, according to Malawi’s Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DODMA) earlier this month. More than 490,000 people have been displaced…
Mass for Easter Sunday will be broadcast live at 10am on RTÉ One television from the Swiss city of Fribourg. The Mass will be celebrated by Bishop Charles Morerod OP in the Church of St Peter, with commentary and translation by Michael Kelly, Editor of The Irish Catholic. The Mass will begin at x. The…
School communities across the country have given their backing to Catholic education, as a highly-publicised pilot scheme on converting Catholic schools to secular ones is finding little push for change following “rigorous” consultation. Even Taoseach Leo Varadkar has indicated no desire for change in his own constituency. After dozens of Catholic schools and hundreds of…
Ireland’s political leaders must “urgently act” on a new report on climate change which highlights numerous options to reduce harmful emissions in order to help the poorest, Church-charity Trócaire has said. The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a major report on Monday which brings the latest evidence on solutions to climate change…
Chai Brady
Ruadhán Jones