Archbishop Anthony Fisher and archdiocesan staff welcomed a commitment by the government of New South Wales to enact anti-slavery legislation passed by the Australian Parliament more than two years ago. The state of New South Wales endorsed the Modern Slavery Act 2018 and supported, in principle, a recommendation to implement the act before the end…
US Secretary of State and Vatican official s ex change views on China The US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the Holy See’s top diplomats had a “respectful” exchange of views on China, the Vatican said October 1. Responding to questions from journalists, Matteo Bruni, director of the Holy See press office, said that Mr…
Some 5,000 students of Spiritan schools in Ireland and their teachers answered the virtual call to prayer on Friday October 2, Feast Day of the Spiritan founder, Claude Poullart des Places. Each classroom across the Spiritan education community created a 15-minute prayer space in its schedule. The online event, led by Fr Paddy Moran CSSp of the Spiritan leadership…
The Bishop of Cloyne has said that to introduce a bill that would allow for assisted suicide during the middle of a pandemic is a “contradiction of an enormous magnitude”. Bishop William Crean criticised the introduction of the ‘Dying with Dignity Bill’, dubbing it “disingenuous and unnecessary”. In his Homily for the Church’s ‘Day for…
US pandemic stimulus bill excludes Catholic school students and their families The chairman of the US bishops’ education committee said October 1 “it is unconscionable” the HEROES Act stimulus bill proposed in the House is excluding Catholic school students and their families. The bill includes $225 billion for education, including $182 billion for K-12 schools,…
Radical legislation that would make it legal to end the lives of vulnerable patients has passed the first stage in the Oireachtas by 81 votes 71. It was debated for just 70 minutes, with TDs opposed to the move only permitted four minutes of speaking time. Politicians backed the move to send the plan to…
Church leaders have urged parishioners not to lose heart in the face of further Covid-19 restrictions and insisted that they will work to impress upon the civil authorities the vital importance of public Masses. In a statement this evening (Wednesday) following their virtual quarterly plenary meeting, the bishops’ conference said that while they “fully support…
People who think politics is sinking to new lows may find comfort in knowing Pope Francis also is concerned about the debasement of what church teaching has described as a “lofty vocation.” “Political life no longer has to do with healthy debates about long-term plans to improve people’s lives and to advance the common good,…
EXCLUSIVE Chai Brady, Jason Osborne and Ruadhán Jones Three times as many priests have died in Ireland at the height of the coronavirus pandemic compared to the same period over the last three years, The Irish Catholic can reveal. The figures were most stark when comparing April to previous years, with 36 deaths this year…
Longford-based dairy farmer Mike Magan [pictured] has made an appeal to his fellow farmers to get a “plane load of whole milk powder” for those suffering in Yemen. While watching an RTÉ feature on the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Yemen, Mr Magan was struck by the image of a father feeding his starving child with…
Michael Kelly