Each of the 13 “pastoral areas” in Ossory diocese will have a vocations director, as the diocese brings the fight for vocations to the local level. The move addresses one of the “key areas” identified by the diocese’s 2015 pastoral plan, according to co-ordinator of the plan’s implementation Gemma Mulligan. “One person will be nominated…
New form of ‘team ministry’ in Ferns Priests in the diocese of Ferns will be assigned to a “team ministry” to cater for parishes without a resident priest, Bishop Ger Nash has said. The appointments, which take effect August 15, are as a follows: Fr Jim Doyle has been appointed Chaplain, Irish College Paris for…
Although the idea of a papal visit to Ukraine was in the air even before the February Russian invasion, it wasn’t until this week that several figures in the know began speaking of a “realistic” possibility that Pope Francis may travel to Kyiv before the summer ends. In an interview, Pope Francis said that the…
Eugenio Scalfari, a highly acclaimed journalist who helped found Italy’s Radical Party and its most widely-read leftist newspaper, who also made waves throughout the Catholic world for his eyebrow-raising and often questionable conversations with Pope Francis, has died aged 98. Mr Scalfari is widely regarded as one of the most acclaimed Italian journalists of the…
Staff reporter Catholic third level institute Carlow College has been offered to the State with “no strings attached”, An Taoiseach Micheál Martin said in the Dáil. Mr Martin, responding to questions from TDs about the Church’s involvement in education, said the “issue of the role of the Church within education” has “evolved significantly”. He cited…
A cardinal who leads India’s Syro-Malabar Church has been cleared by his state government of charges of wrongdoing related to real estate deals estimated to have resulted in losses of around $10 million. The financial controversy led to protests from some of his own clergy and laity, and his temporary loss of administrative authority by…
Staff reporter The chapel in the Poor Clares’ convent in Galway has been reopened to the public after “badly needed” repairs to nearby buildings. The roof of some of the convent buildings was “badly in need of repair with rain coming through the ceilings of the top floor bedrooms”, the order said in a statement.…
US bishops issue abuse compliance audit The US bishops’ annual report on compliance with the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People shows that 2,930 victim survivors came forward with 3,103 allegations during the audit year of July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021. The number of allegations is 1,149 less than that…
We must resist the temptation to make Catholic organisations our own form of safe spaces, writes Ruadhán Jones Lay Catholic societies and youth groups play an important role in the modern Church. My experience of University College Cork’s informal Catholic society was vital to my faith, strengthening it by uniting me with like-minded Catholics. We…
Abortion figures for 2021 show the number of abortions in Ireland is at almost 20,000 in three years, writes Ruadhán Jones Figures released by the Department of Health last week revealed that around 6,700 abortions took place in Ireland in 2021, bringing the total number to almost 20,000 since abortion was introduced three years ago.…
Ruadhán Jones