Archbishop of Armagh Eamon Martin said during a recent Oxford Union debate that private religion is “primarily a religion of sentiment” and quoted St Cardinal John Henry Newman that “we must of necessity ignore it”. Opposing the motion February 17 “This House would move beyond organised religion,” Archbishop Martin said that once the aspects of…
Category: News
Down and Connor ordains six new permanent deacons
Staff Reporter Bishop of Down and Connor Noel Treanor ordained six new permanent deacons for the diocese on Saturday, calling on them to “incentivise concrete care for all” through their service. Kieran Hunt, Ricky Looney, Jackie Breen, Mark Leneghan, John Downey and Paddy Keown were all ordained in a ceremony at St Peter’s Cathedral, Belfast,…
Mickey Rourke to feature in eastern saint movie
Hollywood legend Mickey Rourke is set to feature in Man of God, an upcoming movie about wonder-working eastern saint, St Nektarios of Aegina. The movie is currently being filmed in Greece and is to be released later this year. Mr Rourke has taken on the role of a paralysed man who was healed in hospital…
Cardinal Becciu calls finance probe ‘blitz’ attack
Cardinal Angelo Becciu, former prefect of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes, lambasted a recent financial probe that opened in his native Sardinia. According to a February 15 report by Italian news agency ANSA, Italian finance authorities conducted several raids on individuals connected with Cardinal Becciu. The raids took place in Rome and in the Sardinian towns of…
Iconic Cork church structure damaged by storm Franklin
The “iconic” 15-foot cross on the roof of the Church of the Ascension in Gurranabraher, Cork, has been left tilted by high winds associated with storm Franklin on Sunday. Masses were temporarily postponed and have since restarted, but parish priest Fr Tom Walsh said that, after Covid, it feels like “one disaster after another”. “It’s…
Indian court bans religious clothing amid hijab dispute
Amid widespread protests over a ban on hijabs in schools, an Indian court has temporarily prohibited all forms of religious dress in schools while it considers a legal challenge to the hijab ban. The current conflict began in September 2021 when a girl’s preparatory school in the Indian state of Karnataka moved to ban hijabs,…
Unique opportunity to journey with St Patrick
Staff reporter The Saint Patrick Centre in Co. Down continues its highly successful all-inclusive five day/four night ‘St Patrick camino experience’ next month called ‘the journey’ with pilgrim guides Sister Martina Purdy and Sister Elaine Kelly staying in the Tobar Mhuire monastic retreat centre in Crossgar. The journey includes four guided walks through the stunning St Patrick’s Way in Co.…
Foreign pastors eager to repay Irish ministry
Incoming religious pastoral workers are eager to “give back” to Ireland after receiving from Irish mission work in the past, and to experience the “richness” of Ireland’s spirituality. Speaking to The Irish Catholic newspaper, participants in the Spiritans’ residential orientation course for incoming pastoral workers to Ireland told of their happiness at coming to Ireland…
St Patrick’s Maynooth announces launch of new online faith course
St Patrick’s Pontifical University Maynooth has launched a new online course on faith in a collaborative project with Aspal.ie, a learning platform committed to digital faith formation in Ireland, which will deliver “cutting edge digital catechesis right into the hands of people all across Ireland”. Taking place over an 8-week period between February 14 and…
Catholics in Myanmar’s Kayah state in war zone
A Church official from the Diocese of Loikaw told ucanews.com that he was in the middle of a war zone, with sounds of gunfire, artillery shelling and airstrikes a daily affair. He said the city of Loikaw, in Kayah state, had hundreds of people, “especially women, children and the elderly”, who were displaced from their…






Ruadhán Jones




