A UN role aimed at promoting freedom of expression given to former Minister for Children Katherine Zappone, which she stepped down from after public outcry, should encompass efforts to defend freedom of religion according to Charlie Flanagan TD. Speaking to The Irish Catholic, Mr Flanagan, who is a former Minister for Foreign Affairs and is…
Category: News
Full inclusion of women ‘priority’ in Cashel and Emly
Chai Brady
In a raft of future plans, the inclusion of women in leadership roles “as equal members of the Church” will be one of the key priorities for the Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly. A four-year listening process aimed at moving towards a Church that will better serve the people and communities of the archdiocese was…
Neocatechumenal Way follow in the footsteps of St Declan
More than 40 young people from the Neocatechumenal Way from the Diocese of Cork and Ross went on pilgrimage from Cork to Ardmore and then on to Mount Melleray to celebrate the opening of St Declan’s Way. Since 2013 hundreds of young people from the Neocatechumenal Way in Ireland have been following the lives and…
Biden administration sues Texas over pro-life law
The Biden administration September 9 sued Texas over its new law prohibiting most abortions after the detection of a foetal heartbeat. In a complaint filed in a federal district court in West Texas, the Justice Department said the state acted “in open defiance of the Constitution” in restricting “most pre-viability abortions.” “The Act is clearly…
President Higgins to meet Pope for fourth time
Pope Francis is to receive President Michael D. Higgins in private audience at the Vatican tomorrow (Friday). As part of his visit to the Vatican, Mr Higgins will also meet with Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin. A communique from Áras an Uachtaráin said that the president will discuss with Pope Francis issues such as…
Belarus Church denounces anti-Catholic cartoon depicting priests as Nazis
The bishops’ conference of Belarus accused state media of stoking anti-Catholic feeling, after an official newspaper equated priests with Nazis in a front-page cartoon. “This publication inflicts moral damage on Christians of all denominations – it deliberately, maliciously distorts the truth,” the conference said September 7. “A caricature in which the cross turns into a…
Trócaire calls on Government to increase aid budget
The Church in Ireland’s development agency Trócaire has called on the Government to uphold Ireland’s reputation as a leader in international development by increasing the amount committed in the forthcoming budget. The charity made the call as a global report warned that 142 million people will face severe food shortages in 2021. Trócaire is also…
New bishop consecrated under terms of Vatican-China deal
A new bishop of Wuhan, China, was ordained September 8 under the terms of the Vatican-China agreement, a Vatican spokesman has confirmed. Bishop Francis Cui Qingqi, 57, is the sixth bishop to be consecrated in China since the Holy See signed a provisional agreement with the Chinese government in September 2018. According to Vatican spokesman…
Best-selling Bishop Spong dies
Bishop John Shelby Spong, a best-selling author and Episcopal bishop known for his liberal theology has died. He was 90. He made headlines as the bishop of the Diocese of Newark, where he served for more than two decades when in 1989 he ordained the first openly gay minister. He was part of a movement…
Bishops’ commission laments EU religious freedom envoy vacancy
A Catholic bishops’ commission said that it is a “pity” that the “key position” of EU religious freedom envoy is now vacant. The Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) congratulated the outgoing envoy Christos Stylianides September 8 on his next role as head of Greece’s new climate crisis ministry. But the…