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…
Two well-known religious centres in Dublin, the Emmaus Centre in Swords and St Peregrine’s oratory in Rathfarnham shopping centre, have been “forced to close” due to the effects of lockdown. The Emmaus Centre, run by the Christian Brothers, provided facilities for human, spiritual and religious development for over 40 years to school children, religious and…
A priest famous for his humanitarian work, particularly with victims of childhood sexual abuse, Fr Shay Cullen of the Preda Foundation has criticised one of Netflix’s latest offering Cuties, describing it as “playing into the whole paedophilia-sex industry”. The film follows a group of 11-year-old girls as they take to ‘twerking’ – a dance form…
An Irish missionary prelate has taken over the administration of a South African diocese after an apostolic visitation, meaning the current bishop will just be the diocese’s “spiritual head”. Archbishop Liam Slattery OFM, the retired bishop of Pretoria archdiocese who has spent almost half a century ministering in South Africa, was appointed apostolic administrator of…
More than €65,000 has been donated by Irish members of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre (OHS) to Christians in the Holy Land. The livelihoods of Holy Land Christians have been devasted by Covid-19, leaving them heavily reliant on charitable aid, according to the OHS, an order dedicated to the Holy Land. Following an appeal…
Figures from the Department of Health show that while there were 7,536 initial consultations for aborting a pregnancy, 6,666 abortions actually took place. The Department released the figures following a recent parliamentary question from TD Carol Nolan. Ms Nolan said that the figures show that many women have not “bought into” the efforts to normalise…
A priest based in Fermanagh has said Boris Johnson is not taking the Good Friday Agreement “seriously” in the wake of the UK prime minister introducing legislation that would override the Brexit treaty. Provisions in the UK Internal Market Bill would give Mr Johnson’s government the power to override key provisions in the Withdrawal Agreement,…
Michael Kelly
Ruadhán Jones
Chai Brady