The Vatican has insisted that bishops must consult with parishioners when decisions are made about reorganisation of parishes. Rome also warned this week that a lack of priestly vocations or financial pressure in a diocese is not a good enough reason for a bishop to close parishes or sell churches. It comes as many dioceses…

Jason Osborne The head of religious programming at the national broadcaster has said he has been moved by the many people who have written to thank the station for broadcasting daily Mass while churches were closed due to Covid-19. Speaking to The Irish Catholic, Roger Childs, the Commissioning Editor of Religious Programmes at RTÉ, said:…

Dublin priest Fr Hugh O’Connell has said Ven. Matt Talbot is “already a saint” and called on Irish people to recognise his holiness. Quoting Talbot’s biographer Mary Purcell, Fr O’Donnell said “saints are saints not because of the official proclamation, but because they are holy”. “As far as I’m concerned, he is a saint,” Fr…

Downplaying committed relationships and fidelity in favour of “the right to choose” comes at a great cost for the young and the fragile, says Bishop McKeown. Reflecting on the parable of the wheat and the weeds, Bishop McKeown said it offers us material from which we can “speak into society”. “Political discourse has so often…

Almost 60% of nursing homes inspected by HIQA after having outbreaks of Covid-19 may have had more severe outbreaks than they should have had because of weak governance and management. In a report on the impact of the virus on nursing homes published on Tuesday, HIQA said half of the facilities which had cases weren’t…

Well-known actor Zac Efron called Lourdes sanctuary “an incredibly special and holy place” in his new Netflix documentary Down to Earth. In the second episode of the series, which focused on water, there was a large section dedicated to the famous pilgrimage site. Efron narrates over scenes of Lourdes candles, statues of Our Lady, the…

Pilgrims have been urged to avoid the annual Croagh Patrick climb on Reek Sunday due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Groups involved in organising the Reek Sunday pilgrimage including St Mary’s parish in Westport, the gardaí and Mayo County Council issued a joint statement asking people to stay away. Speaking to CatholicIreland.net, administrator of Westport Parish…

The Capuchin Day Centre in Dublin has seen an increase in the numbers using their takeaway service, with more than 2,000 meals distributed every day. The staff and volunteers have worked hard to fulfil their motto, “no one goes hungry”, as people in need arrive from early in the morning. “We feed around 200 people…

Trócaire have called on the Irish Government to use their influence to ensure no poor country is at risk of a “debt crisis” due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This comes as Pope Francis and Caritas Internationalis called for debt relief to poor countries reeling from war, poverty and the coronavirus pandemic last week. Trócaire is…