The Pro Life Campaign held their first in-person national conference since 2019, with a large crowd focused on the theme of ‘Saving Lives and Facing the Future with Hope’. Guest speakers encouraged the Irish pro-life community to keep fighting for the cause, pointing to signs of hope in the overturning of Roe vs Wade. The…
A top court in the southern Indian state of Kerala has dismissed an appeal by Cardinal George Alencherry, who sought an exemption from appearing in a district court in cases related to his alleged involvement in the sale of Church lands. The November 9 decision of the Kerala High Court effectively means the head of…
Work of prison chaplains ‘unheralded’ The work of prison chaplains is “vital but unheralded”, Bishop of Kilmore Martin Hayes said on Prisoners’ Sunday. In a homily, Bishop Hayes prayed “for all prisoners”, and remembered “their families, all prison staff and prison chaplains, whose work is vital but unheralded within prison services throughout the world”. Referencing…
Vatican confirms opening of abuse investigation of French cardinal The Vatican has decided to open an investigation into French Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard, the retired archbishop of Bordeaux, who admitted in a public letter that he had abused a 14-year-old girl 35 years ago. “As a result of the elements that have emerged in the last…
Pope: Seminaries don’t form ‘supermen’, but humble servants The mission of a seminary “is not to form ‘supermen’ who pretend to know and control everything”, but to help seminarians become priests who are humble servants of the communities they continue to belong to, Pope Francis said. “The Lord calls some of his disciples to be…
The Diocese of Down and Connor brought relics of St Padre Pio to the diocese from November 6-11 to mark 20 years since he was declared a saint. Fr Brian Watters CC of St Peter’s Cathedral Parish, in Belfast, had the relics in the cathedral for three days from November 6. “The numbers who came…
The country’s largest diocese has received an almost €10 million payout from insurance companies to cover money lost due to Covid-19 church closures when collections could not be taken up. The Archdiocese of Dublin’s financial reports for 2021 show that it received €9.4 million as compensation for losses under the business interruption clause of its…
The failure to form an Executive in the North and a lack of political leadership is leaving space for paramilitaries, Bishop Donal McKeown of Derry has warned. He said any decision regarding another Stormont election, set to take place after Christmas, must be taken with a focus on the “common good”. “I think we have…
An Irish theologian has called on Bishop Ray Browne to publicly correct an “egregiously wrong” statement the prelate made about a controversial homily in Listowel, Co. Kerry. Dr Tom Finegan of Mary Immaculate College in Thurles claimed that the bishop’s assertion that the controversial views expressed by Fr Seán Sheehy “do not represent the Christian…
Organisers of a letter from over 500 young Catholics challenging the synod on a perceived desire among young people for liberal reform have been invited to a meeting with the synodal steering committee, The Irish Catholic newspaper understands. The letter, which went viral online after being picked up by Catholic news agencies internationally, was due…
Ruadhán Jones
Chai Brady