The new CEO of Trócaire Seán Farrell along with Bishop Paul Dempsey of the Dublin Archdiocese and Dr Gary Carville, Social Issues & International Affairs at Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference will visit Israel and Palestine this weekend as the Irish delegation attending the Holy Land Coordination meetings. The 2026 Holy Land Coordination will take place…
“The increase over the past year has been particularly steep,” said Ms Sophie Johnston, spokesperson for Cork Simon Community. The latest Department of Housing data shows 736 adults were living in emergency accommodation in Cork in November, up from 589 in 2024 and 545 the year before. Yet, Ms Johnston said, “behind every figure is…
A ‘Welcome Pack’ was distributed to all households attending Christmas celebrations in Oranmore Parish, Co. Galway. The parish’s ‘family welcome project’ had members of staff greeting people arriving at the Christmas celebration and, on their way out, handing them the pack, verbally inviting them to come again. “The pack included a leaflet outlining the services,…
Scottish Catholic bishops have criticised legislation establishing so-called “buffer zones” around abortion facilities, warning it represents a serious erosion of civil and religious freedoms. In a recent statement, the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland said the Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Act 2024 “restricts free speech, free expression, and freedom of religion in ways that should…
Irish Franciscans have welcomed the announcement of the jubilee year of St Francis a chance to renew a Gospel based life and share Francis’ message of peace and mercy. Fr Eugene Barrett OFM, in Rossnowlagh, Co. Donegal, said the community was “delighted” and “pleasantly surprised” by the news, coming so soon after the Jubilee of…
A Nigerian bishop urged intensified military action to “eliminate” bandits and their hideouts in the Kainji Game Reserve amid reports of the killing of 50 people between Christmas and New Year’s and traumatizing of children recently abducted from St Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri. Bishop Bulus Dauwa Yohanna of Kontagora recounted multiple attacks on both Christians…
The Archbishop of Armagh, Eamon Martin, has said that “the days of the Catholic Church seeking to kind of dominate debate they’re over,” while insisting that churches and faith groups still have an important role to play in public life and in supporting the State on major policy issues. Speaking with this paper, Archbishop Martin…
The Bishop of Meath Dr Tom Deenihan has made a robust defence of Catholic education, praising those who work in the sector and rejecting those who argue Catholic schools are places of indoctrination. “A Catholic school, if it were to be biased at all, would share the bias of Christ; the weak, the poor, the…
As the Jubilee Year of Hope draws to a close, priests at Ireland’s major pilgrimage sites say conversations are already under way about what might come next, following a year in which Knock, Lough Derg and Croagh Patrick were linked through a shared pilgrim passport and commemorative pin that encouraged cooperation and renewed interest in…
The permanent diaconate in Ireland is steadily growing, with new ordinations, expanding formation programmes and increasing confidence about the role deacons play in the life of the Church. Fr Eddie McGee, national director of the permanent diaconate, said that 26 men were ordained this year alone, bringing the total number of ordained deacons in Ireland…
Renata Steffens