Staff Reporter Pope Francis has described meeting survivors of abuse in Ireland as “one of the most heated situations I have had to face”. The Pope was referring to the meeting in 2018 during the World Meeting of Families which took place a day before the Mass in the Phoenix Park. In a new interview,…
The nature of religious symbols across hundreds of State-run primary and secondary schools will be decided on a school by school basis, in consultation with parents according to a new ETB framework on ethos. The ETBI Patrons’ Framework on Ethos applies to over 200 second-level and primary schools run by the Education and Training Boards…
A new bill aimed at addressing the legacy of the Troubles in the North of Ireland deprives victims of their fundamental rights, according to a member of the House of Lords. Baroness Nuala O’Loan, former Police Ombudsman of Northern Ireland, has condemned what she calls the “ludicrously named” Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill.…
Staff Reporter England and Wales are now minority Christian countries, according to the 2021 British census. The census revealed a 5.5 million drop in the number of Christians and a 44% rise in the number of people following Islam. It is the first time in a census of England and Wales that less than half…
The lack of substitute teachers is getting “very serious” and is putting pressure on the entire education system, a representative of a Catholic schools’ body has warned. This comes following recent reports that 60% of posts on teacher supply panels in the Dublin region are vacant, as well as one post in ten across the…
The Archdiocese of Tuam is planning for parishioner led faith communities as the “downward trend” in vocations to the priesthood continues. Archbishop Francis Duffy announced the plans in a pastoral letter to the people of the diocese, read out at Masses over the weekend November 26-27. There are presently 41 diocesan priests under the retirement…
The North’s politicians must act with “more urgency” to establish the Executive as the cost-of-living crisis worsens, St Vincent de Paul NI have said. “There needs to be more urgency [to restore the Executive] given the level of the crisis,” said Mary Waide, president of SVP’s North Region, including Belfast. The comments come after Secretary…
Staff Reporter The Church in Ireland must “put synodality into practice” and call a synodal assembly on the future of Catholic education, a prominent Irish theologian has said. Church divestment of Catholic education premises is an “obvious area of concern” for the future of the Church, Prof. Eamonn Conway has written in The Synodal Times,…
The Vatican said on Saturday that Chinese authorities had violated the terms stipulated in its provisional agreement on the appointment of bishops. A statement released on November 26 said that “the Holy See noted with surprise and regret” that Bishop John Peng Weizhao had been installed as an “auxiliary bishop of Jiangxi,” a diocese that…
A new study from Women’s Aid has revealed that the majority of people in Ireland believe that pornography is causing harm to society. Entitled It’s time to talk about porn, the study revealed that 81% of young people believe that engagement with porn leads to increased demand for violent sex. It also shared that 71%…
Chai Brady
Ruadhán Jones