The Islamist terror group’s return to power in Afghanistan will embolden extremists worldwide, the director of Aid to the Church in Need Ireland has said, putting vulnerable Christians at even more risk. The failure of the US and its allies in Afghanistan “validates” the ambitions of Islamists worldwide, Dr Michael Kinsella said. “Other Islamists will…
A Church whistleblower has taken aim at clericalism in a recent book, and says that it’s the “abuse of power” that enables and condones other forms of abuse in the Catholic Church. Author of the new book, Cardinal Sin: Challenging power abuse in the Catholic Church, and abuse survivor, Brian Devlin says that a “new…
Archbishop Michael Neary has appealed to priests not to lose heart, despite the fact that their pastoral ministry has been curtailed by Covid-19 restrictions. Speaking as the Tuam priests gathered for their delayed Chrism Mass, Dr Neary insisted that “to lose heart would be to forget the treasure with which we have been entrusted and…
Fr Ignatius McQuillan, who secretly played for Fermanagh after his ordination, has died aged 90. Fr Iggy – as he was known – was a county footballer at the time of his ordination in 1955. As was customary at the time, he was asked to cease his career, but he continued playing under the name…
NET Ministries is looking forward to a return to “face-to-face” mission following a year of limited in-person missionary work, according to Executive Director of NET Ministries Ireland, Tony Foy. Speaking to The Irish Catholic, Mr Foy said the coming mission year is a “different approach to last year”, but that they’re equally eager to get…
Afghanistan’s terrified Christians are bracing for a new round of persecution in the wake of the Taliban’s takeover of the country, Christian leaders and aid organisations warn. “We are telling people to stay in their houses because going out now is too dangerous,” one Afghani Christian leader told the aid organisation International Christian Concern (ICC.)…
Senator Rónán Mullen sent a letter to Maynooth’s president, questioning the ethics of their collaboration on a survey about “anti-choice protests”. The university is collaborating with Together for Safety, a pro-abortion lobby group who are gathering information on “protests” outside abortion facilities. Mr Mullen called the group’s survey the “antithesis of objective academic research”. He…
Caritas Pakistan has alerted its diocesan units bordering neighbouring Afghanistan to help refugees fleeing the Taliban’s takeover of the country, reported ucanews.com. Thousands of Afghans have entered Pakistan via the Chaman border crossing, one of the most active trade and travel routes between the countries, according to media reports. However, Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad…
German bishops are concerned that a decision guaranteeing German health insurers will pay for pregnant women’s blood tests to detect Down syndrome will lead to abortion. Matthias Kopp, spokesman for the German bishops, said that already about 90% of cases in which an embryo has an extra chromosome result in termination of pregnancy, reported news agency KNA.…
Dublin archdiocese yesterday launched the ‘Families walking together in hope’ initiative, which provides “simple” and “achievable” ideas for families and parishes in support of the Faith in the home and parish. “The ‘family of families’ (parish) will be encouraged to reconnect the ‘holy’ to the home by suggesting rituals of faith in the home with…
Ruadhán Jones