The Vatican hosted a virtual listening session with Catholics with disabilities May 19 as part of the Synod on Synodality process. People from more than 20 countries participated in the video call hosted by the Vatican Dicastery for Laity, Family, and Life on May 19, with some expressing concerns about experiences of discrimination and exclusion. A participant…
A bill aimed at tackling legacy and reconciliation in the North of Ireland must be focused on victim groups rather than on British army veterans the bishop of Derry has said. Bishop Donal McKeown told The Irish Catholic the bill is “a huge step forward” as previously the British government was pushing for the ending…
Staff reporter A push to speed up the availability of abortion services in the North of Ireland has been dubbed “undemocratic” by pro-life group Precious Life. This comes after the British government’s Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Brandon Lewis approved new powers allowing him to accelerate the widespread commissioning of abortion services, saying it was…
The US bishops’ chairman on international justice and peace May 19 lauded the government’s decision to ease sanctions on Cuba. “We commend the Administration’s renewed interest in restarting US engagement with Cuba. Recognising that points of contention remain between our two countries, Cuba’s punitive isolation has not produced the economic and social change that the…
Renowned Italian Catholic tenor Andrea Bocelli took to social media to celebrate his daughter, Virginia’s, First Holy Communion, writing that Communion means “growing in friendship with Jesus and wishing that others too can enjoy the joy he wants to give us”. Catholic faith Well-known for his Catholic faith, Mr Bocelli took the occasion May 16…
A Catholic diocese and nuns are working to reduce the number of women who die in childbirth and the number of children who die young, and a hospital administrator said it does not take expensive technology. The Medical Missionaries of Mary run Mile Four Hospital for the Diocese of Abakaliki. Many of the sisters are…
New South Wales has become the sixth and final Australian state to legalise euthanasia and assisted suicide. Its legislation forces health care and elder care organisations with religious objections to allow the practice on their premises. “If a civilisation is to be judged by how it treats its weakest members, the New South Wales parliament…
Dublin parish wins European climate change award St Anne’s Parish, Shankill, Dublin, was a joint recipient of the European Christian Environmental Network prize for 2022, recognising and affirming Christian environmental action in local churches across Europe. In awarding the prize the jury noted “the complex approach covering practical steps in energy saving with prayers, liturgy…
Patrons of World Youth Day 2023 announced Pope St John Paul II and Blessed Carlo Acutis will be among the patrons of World Youth Day 2023 in Lisbon. Cardinal Manuel Clemente, the Patriarch of Lisbon, unveiled the new patrons on May 18, the anniversary of the Polish pope’s birth. The 73-year-old cardinal said that the Virgin Mary…
The Loyola Institute at Trinity College Dublin marked 10 years since its founding with a ‘Festival of Theology’, May 19-22, which brought Irish and international theologians together to discuss theology and the university. There was a full house in the Synge Theatre, TCD, May 19, as the festival opened, with the speakers focusing on the…
Chai Brady
Ruadhán Jones