Former Pope Benedict XVI has died aged 95 in his residence at the Vatican’s Mater Ecclesiae Monastery, it was announced this morning. He led the Church for eight years until he stood down in 2013 due to ill health, almost 10 years ago, becoming the first pope since Gregory XIII in 1415 to step down.…
by Chai Brady and Jason Osborne Exclusive Catholics have been warned not to be “misled” by bogus friend requests on social media from people they do not know inviting them to online prayer meetings and claiming to be Catholic or Christian. The warning comes in light of a wave of fake profiles on Facebook in…
The future of the island of Ireland won’t be secured by merely changing borders or politicians, Bishop of Derry Donal McKeown has warned. Drawing comparisons to the Holy Land in Jesus’ time, Bishop McKeown said that “local rulers would not guarantee a wonderful country, if those leaders were not people of wisdom and humility”. “Similarly,…
The mother of UN peacekeeper Seán Rooney who was killed in Lebanon told mourners the family will “strengthen our faith” at his funeral last week. Private Rooney (24), from Newtowncunningham, Co Donegal, died when his convoy came under attack while travelling to Beirut from their camp in the Golan Heights. Speaking at the funeral, which…
The patriarchs and heads of Churches of the Holy Land spoke over Christmas of the suffering Jesus and the Holy Family endured in his early life, likening it to the way many people and refugees suffer today. “Similar sorrows and travails continue to afflict the world in our time, whether they be in Ukraine, Armenia,…
Staff Reporter The Irish Times newspaper has reportedly refused to publish letters from campaigners highlighting abuse in non-Catholic institutions in Ireland, it has been claimed. While the newspaper published a short note on the death of Derek Linster – a former resident of the Protestant-run Bethany Home – it did not mention that he had…
Christmas is the time to renew our commitment to fighting the “culture of indifference” that Pope Francis speaks of, President Michael D. Higgins has said in his Christmas message for 2022. The president used his yearly message to highlight the “culture of indifference” that Pope Francis notes in his encyclical Laudato Si’, that relates to…
In one of his last official acts as Taoiseach, TD Micheál Martin officially opened a refurbished centre of Catholic education in Cork. The Edmund Rice Centre, Mardyke House, was blessed by Bishop of Cork and Ross Fintan Gavin, and reopened before Christmas following extensive refurbishment undertaken by the Christian Brothers. In a wide-ranging address, the…
A large crowd processed through Wexford town with a statue of Our Lady to mark the feast of the Immaculate Conception. The Faithful who gathered December 8 prayed the rosary as the candlelit procession made its way from the Franciscan Friary. The feast, which celebrates Mary’s immaculate birth without the stain of original sin, is…
Saying that retired Pope Benedict XVI was “very sick,” Pope Francis asked people to offer special prayers for him. “I would like to ask all of you for a special prayer for emeritus Pope Benedict,” Pope Francis said at the end of his weekly general audience today (Wednesday). The 95-year-old retired Pope “is sustaining the…
Chai Brady
Ruadhán Jones
Michael Kelly