Category: News

Well-known philosopher 
Fr Donal Daly dies

Tributes have been paid to a late priest-philosopher who helped form generations of both priests and lay students at Maynoooth. Fr Donal Daly SVD – who was 84 – died “peacefully and patiently” after what confrères described as a long illness. Born in Fermoy in Co. Cork in 1936, he entered the noviciate of the…

Colombian bishops pray for peace following 13 murders

The Colombian Bishops’ Conference appealed for peace following two brutal massacres of young people last week in the country. In a statement, the bishops expressed their “deep grief and concern” over the killings. “We pray to God for the victims and we express our closeness and solidarity with their families, the inhabitants of the cities…

‘Inspirational’ Irish priest drowns in US

The body of a Belfast priest was recovered from Detroit river five days after a freak accident capsized the boat he was travelling on. Fr Stephen Rooney, PP of St Joseph’s, Trenton, Illinois, and one other passenger went missing on Sunday, August 16. Their fishing charter overturned when it hit a submerged rock in the Detroit river’s channel,…

Online Mass ‘a poor substitute’

Watching Mass at home is a poor substitute for full participation in the liturgy, Bishop Donal McKeown has warned. He also said that the Church is held together “not by human strength but by God’s providence and plan”. In a homily at the weekend, the Bishop of Derry expressed the “hope that we will soon…

Vatican Roundup

Academy unveils effort to fight Mafia’s ‘deviant spirituality’ of Mary Given the many criminal organisations and gangs worldwide that have distorted the true role and image of Mary, a pontifical academy has unveiled a new department dedicated to fighting “this deviant spirituality”. The Pontifical Marian International Academy will be working with the Italian government and law enforcement…

In Brief

WHO leader supports Pope’s call for fair access to vaccine The head of the World Health Organization, which has been strongly advocating rapid, fair, and equitable access to potential Covid-19 vaccines worldwide, has voiced support for Pope Francis’ similar call for global protections. The Pope made appeals both on Twitter and at his weekly general…