Vatican official insists religious services are ‘essential’ For believers, the ability to practice their faith and receive spiritual guidance are “the highest of essential services”, and pandemic practices over the past year have shown they are not automatically super-spreader events, the Vatican foreign minister said. Speaking February 23 during the high-level segment of the UN…
Catholic agencies welcome access to Ethiopia’s Tigray region Catholic relief agencies in Ethiopia welcomed a move by the government to allow more access in Tigray where a military operation displaced millions and left an unspecified number of people dead. Amid increased international calls for unrestricted access, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali announced February 24 that…
The bishops and archbishop of Tuam have “expressed concern” that public worship may not be available “for months to come” under the Government’s five stage plan
A German Catholic bishop has publicly defended his support for a book of blessings and rites for homosexual unions. Bishop Peter Kohlgraf of Mainz also suggested that Catholics with homosexual inclinations cannot all be expected to live chastely and the Church should adopt a pastoral approach that acknowledges this. “Quite a few people who have…
A Dublin-based deacon who spent six weeks in hospital fighting for his life battling coronavirus has thrown his weight behind a call for a return to Mass for Easter. Deacon Don Devaney – who is well-known as the organiser of the Divine Mercy Conference – spent much of his time in intensive care on a…
The Redemptoristines of Drumcondra are the latest community in Ireland to perform the Jerusalema dance challenge, responding to a nomination from their Redemptorist brothers. The video, which was posted to the community’s Facebook page, has been viewed over 10,000 times, and received over 2,500 likes and shares. “The lyrics of the ‘Jerusalema’ song are in…
It’s important nations “work together” and not hoard vaccines, said Bishop Denis Nulty, as he warned that the Covid-19 pandemic can only end once everyone is vaccinated. That bishop’s call comes as figures reveal that the EU, US and Japan have purchased one billion more vaccine doses than their population needs. “It’s crucial ethical question…
Minister Patrick O’Donovan has expressed the desire to see priests and undertakers treated as frontline workers when it comes to vaccination. The Limerick Leader reported that Minister O’Donovan said he was planning to write to Government colleague, Stephen Donnelly, in relation to vaccination for priests and undertakers. Speaking to The Irish Catholic, Mr O’Donovan said…
Researchers have found that the “desire to die” that is sometimes expressed among elderly people living in community is often “transient” and linked to experiences of loneliness and depression. Longitudinal study The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (Tilda) found that four per cent of 8,100 people aged over 50 expressed a desire to die when…
The latest Nasa rover to touchdown on Mars has been hailed as inspiration for future explorers, a Church astronomer has said. Own path in life Jesuit Brother Robert Macke said that events like this were what inspired his own path in life. With degrees in physics, philosophy and theology, Br Macke said that he hopes…
Ruadhán Jones