The president of the French bishops’ council for Catholic education expressed solidarity with the country’s school community following the beheading of a school teacher in an Islamist terror attack last week. “In these dark hours, Catholic education feels deeply united in solidarity with the whole school community…and first of all with the teachers,” Archbishop Laurent…
Category: News
Belarusian archbishop says Vatican doing all it can to secure his return
A Belarusian archbishop who has been denied entry back into his own country said the Vatican was doing everything in its power to resolve the situation and help him return. To live in “forced exile” is difficult, Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz of Minsk told SIR, the news agency of the Italian bishops’ conference. “I can only live in…
Catholic NI schools must stay open says CCSM
Everything must be done to make sure that schools in the North reopen next week to avoid “repercussions for years to come” according to the Chief Executive of the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools (CCSM). Writing in The Irish News, Gerry Campbell said the CCSM is “extremely concerned” about the immediate impact on young people…
Church group brands Philippine budget as anti-poor
A Catholic Church labour group in the Philippines has accused lawmakers of ignoring the poor, as well as the health and labour sectors with its budget for 2021 by not allocating a “sufficient amount” to cushion the effect of the coronavirus on hard-hit Filipinos. The Church People-Solidarity Group, an organisation composed of clergymen and churchgoers…
Poor Clare nuns making a habit of chart success
The Poor Clares of Arundel, Sussex have hit No.1 in the official UK classical album charts following the release of their debut album. The album, Light for the World, was released last week on Decca Records and stormed up the iTunes and Amazon UK albums charts, peaking at #1 and #2 respectively earlier this week.…
Congolese bishops call for special court to try war crimes
Catholic bishops in Congo are calling for a special international criminal court to try people suspected of mass killings and human rights abuses in the African country, where thousands of women and girls have been raped by armed men. The bishops made the call in a statement released October 19 after their plenary meeting in the capital,…
Vatican Roundup
Pope names new archbishop of Lyon after resignation of Cardinal Barbarin Pope Francis has named Bishop Olivier de Germay of Ajaccio, Corsica, to be the new archbishop of Lyon, France, succeeding a cardinal whose conviction on charges of failing to report clerical sex abuse was overturned. Cardinal Philippe Barbarin’s conviction was overturned in January, but…
Faith helped me deal with false allegations, says Cliff Richard
Sir Cliff Richard said his faith sustained him after being “in a pit” of despair following a claim in 2014 of historical sexual assault. Sir Cliff appeared on Piers Morgan’s Life Stories and opened up on the devastation caused by the incident, recalling how he was left crumpled and sobbing on the kitchen floor. “I…
In Brief
Catholic Coney Barrett sworn in as US Supreme Court justice US President Donald Trump has sworn in his latest nominee to the Supreme Court. The White House ceremony took place on Monday night after Amy Coney Barrett’s [pictured] nomination was approved by congress. She will be the 115th justice in US history and the fifth…
Nursing homes should be prioritised by the state, bishop says
The deaths of the elderly and vulnerable in the first lockdown was “hugely distressing”, said Bishop Michael Router, Chair of the Council for Healthcare of the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference. As such, nursing homes should be prioritised and the elderly need more support from the Government, he continued. Bishop Router also called on people to…




Ruadhán Jones




