Three priests associated with a minor seminary located in the Vatican testified that they neither witnessed nor were informed of suspected cases of sexual abuse occurring at the school. Taking the stand at the Vatican City State criminal court April 14, the three priests affiliated with the St Pius X Pre-Seminary also cast doubt on…
A Tipperary priest has queried whether the Government will be financially supporting clergy who have invested in webcams in order to move their services online. Fr Michael Toomey PP of Ardfinnan and Newcastle told The Irish Catholic he spent €5,000 setting up a webcam to broadcast Masses to his parishioners. He also pays €180 a…
The auxiliary bishop of Armagh has warned parents not to alienate their children from the other parent when relationships end, saying it’s “a particular form of domestic abuse”. In a homily over the weekend, Bishop Michael Router pointed to International Parental Alienation Awareness day, which takes place on Sunday, April 25. “This day highlights a…
Christian leaders in Nigeria claimed April 11 that Muhammadu Buhari’s government is keen on Islamising the West African nation, following the recent appointments of Court of Appeal judges. In their statement, the leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria called for “serious adjustments” on already executed appointments, and a “paradigm shift” in future appointments. “Under…
10,000 apprenticeships have been announced this week as part of an Action Plan on Apprenticeships, the move being hailed as a “positive development” by Fr Sean Healy SMA of Social Justice Ireland. As part of the new plan, 10,000 apprenticeships will be created every year from 2025 onwards, with a target to hire 750 public…
Germany’s lower house of Parliament is considering replacing state payments to the nation’s two largest churches. The Catholic and Protestant churches received combined state benefits of more than $542 million in 2020. At a hearing in the interior affairs committee of the Bundestag, or lower house of parliament, they welcomed in principle the intention of…
It is a difficult and uncertain moment in the West, when the vision of who man is and what he is for is being questioned, and the answers proposed by society are “short-sighted,” the Vatican’s foreign minister has said. In an interview with Le Sfide magazine, Archbishop Paul Gallagher said he is “cautiously optimistic” about…
Major Vatican conference on priesthood slated for 2022 Increasing vocations to the priesthood, improving the way laypeople and priests work together and ensuring that service, not power, motivates the request for ordination are all possible outcomes of a major symposium being planned by the Vatican in February 2022. “A theological symposium does not claim to…
Sponsor a gargoyle: Fundraiser launched for Notre Dame A novel fundraising approach to restore one of the most iconic monuments in the world, the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, enables donors to have a piece of history. On April 15, Friends of Notre-Dame de Paris unveiled an interactive website – restorenotredame.org – that allows…
Prayer is more than just a mental exercise or form of meditation, said Pope Francis at his weekly general audience, as he reflected on the importance of speaking the words of prayers out loud
Chai Brady
Ruadhán Jones