Bishop Xavier Novell, who unexpectedly resigned in August as bishop of Solsona, Spain, entered into a civil marriage with Silvia Caballol on November 22. Catalan media sources reported that the marriage ceremony took place on that Monday at the courthouse in Suria, Barcelona province, and was attended by only two witnesses. According to this same…
Staff reporter Ahead of today’s visit by Pope Francis to Cyprus, Fr Jerzy Kraj, Vicar General of Holy Cross Franciscan Monastery in Nicosia, said the Pontiff’s decision to visit the tiny Catholic community is a concrete application of “his message to go to the peripheries, to encounter small communities and to encourage them”. When the…
The Australian Archdiocese of Brisbane has announced that all archdiocesan employees, including clergy, contractors and some volunteers, must be fully vaccinated by December 15 in accord with the state’s mandate unless they have a medical exemption. “As we view the situation in Australia and internationally, it is clear that vaccination is the most effective way…
Cardinal Vincent Nichols, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, said last week that the death of 27 migrants attempting to cross the English Channel is “a tragic summons to action”. Cardinal Nichols, appealed on November 25 for “focused international cooperation” to prevent further deaths in the waters between France and the UK.…
St Angela’s College Sligo are confident that its Catholic ethos will be protected, as the Minister for Higher Education has given the go-ahead for its incorporation into Sligo IT. The Irish Catholic understands that the board of St Angela’s is satisfied with the protections being put in place for the new incorporation. It will have…
Staff Reporter To mark the centenary of the Legion of Mary, The Irish Catholic will next week publish a specially-dedicated souvenir edition looking at the remarkable life of Frank Duff and the tremendous work of the enormous lay organisation he founded. Charting the humble beginnings of the legion to being the largest movement ever to…
Pope Francis prays for Wisconsin parade victims Pope Francis is praying for the people injured and killed by an SUV that ploughed into marchers during a Christmas parade in the Milwaukee suburb of Waukesha, the Vatican press office said last Tuesday. A message sent to Archbishop Jerome E Listecki of Milwaukee said that the Pope was…
Church in Italy criticises first legally assisted suicide in country The Catholic Church in Italy said that life must be “protected and defended” after local health authorities in Italy approved the country’s first legally obtained assisted suicide. The ethics committee of the health service of the Italian city of Ancona ruled on November 23 that…
Parishes across the country are fearful that the soaring cost of living and job losses due to the pandemic are “tipping people into poverty”. The Society of St Vincent de Paul – which helps people in need in every parish in Ireland – is bracing itself for record demand ahead of Christmas. Rose McGowan, national…
The move by Pope Francis to put two dioceses in the west under the leadership of a single bishop is just the first phase of structural rationalisation in the Church in Ireland, The Irish Catholic understands. The Pontiff indicated last week that when Bishop of Galway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora Brendan Kelly retires shortly, the diocese…
Ruadhán Jones
Chai Brady