France’s Catholic bishops have published a report on measures to combat sexual abuse by clergy, listing data on criminal charges and efforts by a new anti-abuse commission. “The journey to zero tolerance has begun in a firm and visible way,” Bishop Luc Crepy of Le Puy-en-Velay, head of the French Church’s permanent commission for fighting…
Category: News
Would-be president out of touch on Angelus
Peter Casey may have tapped into disaffection gaining some 23% of the voters at the presidential election, but he is decidedly out of touch when it comes to the broadcast of the Angelus on RTÉ. The station’s exit poll following the election found that 68% of people supported the national broadcaster continuing to broadcast the…
Former Galway laundry offers ‘another way’
Galway’s former Magdalene laundry is to be converted to a service to help women and children who have experienced domestic abuse. Renamed ‘ModhEile’ – ‘another way’ – in the hope that it will inspire women suffering from domestic abuse to find a way to rebuild their lives and create a better future for their families,…
Ruhama praises PSNI for human trafficking rescues
Irish charity Ruhama have welcomed the “success of the PSNI” after new figures revealed they rescued 36 potential trafficking victims in the first six months of the 2018/19 financial year. In total 36 victims were rescued in the 2017/18 financial year in the North of Ireland. CEO Sarah Benson told The Irish Catholic that a…
Mother Teresa nun refused bail in India over adoption scandal
The High Court in India’s Jharkhand state has rejected the latest bail plea of a Missionaries of Charity nun accused of selling babies from a congregation-run home for unwed mothers. Sr Concilia was arrested on July 4 at Nirmal Hriday, the home she managed for unmarried mothers in the state capital Ranchi. She was initially remanded in…
Poland’s bishops say country’s freedom linked with Catholicism
Poland’s bishops marked their country’s centenary of independence by warning freedom could be lost again if Poles abandon their Catholic Faith. In a pastoral letter for the November 11 centenary, the bishops said love of homeland was a divine command and was expressed through “daily civic honesty, readiness to serve and dedication to the common…
Hubble’s law name change to honour priest
The International Astronomical Union has voted in favor of a recommendation to rename the Hubble law the Hubble-Lemaître law, to acknowledge the contributions of the Belgian priest and astronomer Georges Lemaître to the scientific theory of the expansion of the universe. “To honour the intellectual integrity and the supremely significant discovery by Georges Lemaître, the…
Vatican Roundup
All Souls day is time to remember and hope – Pope The Mass for the feast of All Souls is “realistic, concrete” in calling Catholics to remember the people and events of their past, to consider how they live today and to hope for eternal life with God and their loved ones who preceded them, Pope Francis said. Celebrating an outdoor Mass on November 2,…
Irish Jesuit praised by Zambian government
A Co. Offaly-born Jesuit has been honoured by the government of Zambia for his work in developing strategies for HIV prevention. President Edgar Lungu conferred the Order of Distinguished Service on 89-year-old Fr Michael Kelly SJ last week in the Zambian capital of Lusaka. Fr Kelly has worked for decades to educate people about the…
Brexit could lead to border violence again, bishop says
Brexit will have “dire consequences” across Ireland and could evoke “violent reaction” from those on border counties, the Bishop of Down and Connor has warned this week. Speaking to the German Catholic News Agency, KNA, Bishop Noel Treanor said: “As recently as 20 years ago, we still had the British army, armed checkpoints and police…