Laois-native Fr Bill Treacy has left a loving legacy in the US, writes Jason Osborne Irish priest Fr William ‘Bill’ Treacy died Sunday, October 16 in Washington state at the age of 103, with many believing him to have been the oldest priest in the USA. Fr Treacy was well-known among Seattle’s Irish community, ministering…
The first auditor general of the Vatican and his deputy are suing the Secretariat of State for $9.25 million in damages. Libero Milone and Ferruccio Panicco are seeking compensation for loss of earnings, damage to their reputations, and emotional suffering. Mr Milone and Mr Panicco told reporters this week they also would submit records documenting…
A group of Catholic business leaders in the Philippines has forged an agreement to implement a cap on the prices of goods and commodities during the Christmas holiday season. The group of more than 3,000 entrepreneurs said the decision was made in order not to take advantage of the high demand during the Christmas season,…
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…
Ruadhán Jones
Chai Brady