A senator is calling for a full report into the referral of 234 children by the HSE to a British clinic following the NHS’s decision to shut it down. By spring, the Tavistock clinic, named the Gender and Identity Development Service (GIDS), will shut down after it was criticised in an independent review released in…
Category: News
Catholic school has right to hire staff who uphold church doctrine, court rules
The US Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit in Chicago said July 28 that a Catholic high school in Indianapolis and the Archdiocese of Indianapolis have a constitutional right to hire staff who will uphold their core religious teachings. The case, Starkey v Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Indianapolis, involves Lynn Starkey, a former guidance…
Derry bishop says all Claudy bomb info divulged
Staff reporter Bishop Donal McKeown of Derry diocese has said that he believes all information held by the Church in relation to the Claudy bombing in Derry has been handed to authorities. The late Fr James Chesney was said to have been involved in the attack which killed nine civilians and injured 30 when three…
Catholic faith a ‘main factor’ in speaking Irish in North
A new study from Queen’s University Belfast shows that being Catholic is one the “main factors” in speaking Irish in the North. The report, which draws on census data from the Northern Ireland Longitudinal Study, shows that 91% of people who were raised Catholic have knowledge of the Irish language. Catholics are four times more…
Skills training and education ‘only way out of misery’ for Pakistan’s poor
To improve the lives of Pakistanis, many of whom are desperately poor, the Archdiocese of Lahore has ramped up its educational and vocational training efforts. “We evaluated and studied that – through education and then skill training and some other professional training – that is the only way out of misery,” said Archbishop Sebastian Shaw…
Bishops report newspaper to NI equality body over ad ban
The Primate of All-Ireland has written to the North’s Equality Commission after The Belfast Telegraph refused to publish an advert from the northern bishops without changes to text expressing the Church’s stance on abortion. Archbishop Eamon Martin of the Diocese of Armagh highlighted the implications for faith-based groups and their participation in public life. He…
‘Our angels have wings’ Zelenskyy says on Ukrainian Statehood Day
Ukrainians will fight for their statehood to the last and will not stop until they liberate the last metre of Ukrainian land, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video address for Ukrainian Statehood Day July 28. The day marks the 988 Baptism of “Kyivan Rus,” the origin of Christianity in the region, but this is…
Prayer vigils at abortion centres to be banned under proposed legislation
Pro-life groups have condemned the move by cabinet to approve the introduction of legislation on so-called ‘safe access zones’ around healthcare facilities that can provide abortion. The legislation proposes 100-metre zones around abortion providers in which pro-life demonstrations, even prayer vigils, would be banned and those involved could face a fine or imprisonment. The Life…
In brief
St James honoured with procession in Cuban city A large number of Catholics from the Archdiocese of Santiago de Cuba participated in a procession July 25 to celebrate the feast of their patron, St James the Apostle. The special event also commemorated the 507th anniversary of the founding of Santiago (St James) de Cuba. Archbishop…
Waterford-Kenya parishes link up for ‘mutual enrichment’
Parishes and schools in Kenya and Waterford are forging links for their “mutual enrichment”, Bishop of Waterford and Lismore Alphonsus Cullinan has said. Bishop Cullinan along with representatives from the diocese and Mary’s Meals visited the diocese of Lodwar, Northern Kenya, in July to establish outreach programmes to the region. “This is an arid and…

Chai Brady



Ruadhán Jones





