The “vital” work of peace building on the island of Ireland is still unfinished, the Church leaders, including Archbishop Eamon Martin, told President Michael D. Higgins. The Church leaders group met the President of Ireland and his wife Sabina, last Monday (November 28) for a “relaxed and informal conversation across a wide range of issues”.…
Ambassador chosen to lead Eastern Churches dicastery Pope Francis has appointed a papal ambassador and expert in Eastern languages and literature to lead the Vatican Dicastery for the Eastern Churches. Archbishop Claudio Gugerotti, 67, has been apostolic nuncio to Great Britain since July 2020. The Italian was undersecretary of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches…
Prelates have honoured the “devoted and generous” Bishop Martin Drennan following his death aged 78 on Friday. He was ordained as a priest of Ossory diocese in 1968. The current bishop of Galway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora, Bishop Michael Duignan, said Bishop Drennan was an internationally respected academic who “taught with energy, passion and insight at…
Bishop Noel Treanor of the Diocese of Down and Connor has said he is “honoured” after Pope Francis announced he would be the new Apostolic Nuncio to the European Union. Bishop Treanor will continue as the administrator of the diocese until he takes up appointment in Brussels in January. It is currently unclear who will…
Pope Francis has suspended the secretary-general and other top officers of Caritas Internationalis, appointing a temporary administrator to oversee improved management policies and to prepare for the election of new officers in May. Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, whose second term as Caritas president was to end in May, also loses his position, although he is…
Catholic leaders have condemned the November 19 attack on an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colorado, that killed at least five people and injured at least 25. Seven of those wounded were in critical condition. The Church leaders – the archbishop of Denver, leaders of religious orders and congregations, and a Catholic outreach group to…
Archbishop Martin launches Advent calendar Primate of All-Ireland Archbishop Eamon Martin has launched the bishops’ interactive digital Advent calendar, which will go live on November 27 on catholicbishops.ie. This year “more than ever” we need an Advent filled “with hope, promise and peace and, of course, the message of the Christmas angels: do not be…
Staff Reporter As Ghana’s national soccer team, the Black Stars, joins other national teams for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, some Ghanaian citizens have been talking about Iñaki Williams, who was named after a Catholic priest. His parents, Ghanaians Felix Williams and Maria (Mary) Arthuer, crossed the Sahara and, when they got to Morocco, jumped the…
Madrid football head doctor calls Pope Francis ‘very stubborn patient’ The Vatican has recruited the head doctor of a Madrid soccer team among a team of specialists to help treat Pope Francis’ knee problem. José María Villalón, a sports medicine specialist and the head doctor of the Atlético de Madrid soccer team, described the Pope…
Exclusive There is “great relief” among parishes across the country, as local councils drop a new tax on churches that could have cost Mass-goers thousands every year on top of the rising costs of running places of worship. Dioceses are pouring over maps released by local councils earlier this month, which places some churches in…
Ruadhán Jones
Chai Brady