Minister Paschal Donoghue was pressed by TD’s not to “bring candles into the VAT net”, stressing their importance for personal prayer. The exchange occurred as a proposal in the Finance Bill 2020, which would introduce a tax on prayer candles, was being debated. TD PeadarTóibín questioned the timing of the VAT change and highlighted the…
In 2020, the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal has lost scores of pilgrims and, with them, large amounts of revenue, amid coronavirus travel restrictions which have kept foreigners away. Pandemic Spokeswoman Carmo Rodeia told CNA November 18 that the low number of pilgrims has had “a profound impact on donations” to the…
Almost half the women presenting for early abortion services at a family planning clinic were already mothers, according to the clinic’s report. The Irish Family Planning Association’s (IFPA) 2019 annual report, which covers the first year of abortion services, analysed data from 177 clients for insight into who is having abortions. The IFPA report states…
Former Minister of Justice Charlie Flanagan TD has praised the Presentation Sisters in Mountmellick, Co. Laois, for their “hugely dedicated” work in education. Mr Flanagan, who is currently the Chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence, made the comment in a Tweet posted on the Feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin…
The reconstruction of a church in Beirut severely damaged by the massive explosion that rocked the city this summer is a sign of hope to the area’s inhabitants, said a local priest. Fr Nicolas Riachy is pastor of the Church of the Saviour in Beirut, Lebanon. He told Aid to the Church in Need (ACN)…
A Dominican sister was shot in the leg as her humanitarian relief team came under gunfire from paramilitaries in Mexico’s southern Chiapas state. Dominican Sister María Isabel Hernández Rea, 52, was struck in the leg November 18 while attempting to take food to a group of indigenous Tzotzil people displaced from a hamlet in the…
The move will be felt as a “great loss” by many but is a sign of changes in the way people express their faith, according to a local historian. The Belfast-based confraternity met for the last time on Sunday, November 22, 123 years after it began in July 1897. Belfast historian Brian McKee believes that…
Bishop Brendan Leahy has appealed to the public to stay diligent over the next 10 days, encouraging continuing compliance with public health regulations. The Bishop of Limerick said that while weariness has set in, the Faithful must keep their eyes on saving lives. “The Covid-19 crisis has hit us out of the blue. We didn’t…
Two European Catholic commissions warned that Arctic warming is intensifying competition over the region’s resources and urged tougher policies to protect its biodiversity and indigenous communities. As exploration, mining, investment and military activities increase, predatory practices also can increase, said the Brussels-based Commission of Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union, or COMECE, and Justice and…
Vatican bishop: Ethics committee will guide future investments A Vatican bishop has said that a committee of outside professionals is being created to help keep Holy See investments both ethical and profitable. Bishop Nunzio Galantino, president of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (APSA), said November 19 that statutes for a new…
Ruadhán Jones
Chai Brady