Focus missionaries are set to aid the Catholic Chaplaincy at Queen’s University Belfast in its outreach efforts in the coming academic year. Speaking to The Irish Catholic newspaper, Director of Campus Ministry Shannon Campbell said that Focus will help to develop the chaplaincy’s “outward vision”, which will stop it from becoming a “little holy huddle”.…
The Australian Parliament is considering legislation that would allow the country’s two territories to pass their own laws, paving the way for legalising euthanasia. On August 2, the House of Representatives passed the Restoring Territory Rights Bill 2022, which removes the risk of the federal government overriding the territories’ laws. The bill must still be…
Knock novena returns to traditional format The annual Knock national novena returns to its original format next week for the first time since 2019. The theme for this year is ‘A Journey in Hope’, with the novena running from Sunday August 14 to Monday August 22. More than 8,000 pilgrims are expected to attend each…
Pro-lifers will resist any attempts to use new ‘exclusion zones’ legislation to ban the largest pro-life event of the year, the Life Institute have said. Niamh Uí Bhriain told The Irish Catholic that such an interpretation of the legislation would be extreme and “malicious”. “That would have profoundly important implications for the right to protest…
Catholic bishops in Ethiopia warned that insecurity is shutting down churches and forcing more priests and nuns to flee, as consequences of the war in the northern province of Tigray are felt across the entire country. The bishops reiterated that the insecurity also had made it difficult for the Church to effectively carry out its…
Staff reporter Fr Patrick Devine SMA hopes to tackle violence against women in Nairobi, Kenya, through a new Empowerment Centre. The centre will offer women and children the tools and supports to be “significant architects of their security”, according to a press release from the Shalom Centre. The new Empowerment Centre, part of the Shalom…
Ortega regime in Nicaragua shuts Catholic radio stations Nicaraguan police broke into Divine Mercy parish the night of August 1 in the town of Sébaco in the Diocese of Matagalpa to shut down one of the five Catholic radio stations closed that day by the Daniel Ortega regime. On Facebook, the parish broadcast live the…
American popstar Britney Spears took to Instagram to vent about church closures during Covid which she claims prevented her from having the Catholic wedding of her dreams. In a now-deleted post, Ms Spears said that she’d wanted to marry in St Monica Catholic Church in Southern California, but was prevented from becoming a regular attendee…
The number of legal abortions taking place in Poland decreased by 90% in 2021, following a court ruling that banned abortion in the case of a foetal medical diagnosis such as Down syndrome. According to a report by the Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita, data from the Ministry of Health shows that the number of legal abortions…
A new exhibition, ‘A Man for all Seasons’, on the life of the late Bishop of Derry Edward Daly was launched Wednesday 3, August. Exhibition It will be on display at St Eugene’s Cathedral Hall, Infirmary Road, from August 8-14. The exhibition – which is supported by Derry & Strabane Council – features items linked…
Ruadhán Jones