Public Masses, Confirmations and First Communions have been cancelled in Dublin for three weeks after the Government’s new guidelines were announced this evening. Archbishop Diarmuid Martin sent an “urgent notice” to parishes in the Archdiocese of Dublin this morning (Friday), presupposing the Government’s announcement as he said the outcome “seems likely”. The restrictions will see…
EXCLUSIVE New research which reveals that one in five previously Mass-going Catholics may not return after the pandemic has been described as a “wake-up call”. While just four percent of people surveyed said they had no intention of returning to Mass, a further 19% of people who went to Mass regularly before restrictions indicated that…
The Irish Primary Principals Network (IPPN) have said that while they support siblings attending the same school, the objective should be getting children into school “at an appropriate age”. This comes as Catholic primary schools in the greater Dublin area are being told by the Archdiocese of Dublin to stop giving priority enrolment to siblings…
Former Ireland international and current Shamrock Rovers footballer Joey O’Brien has said he will be saying a few prayers at a Dublin church before his team take on AC Milan this evening, Thursday. Mr O’Brien said he customarily prays to St Anthony and did so over the weekend before the match in Tallaght Stadium in…
President Michael D. Higgins has welcomed a decision by a court in Spain to sentence a former Salvadoran army colonel to 133 years in prison for the murder of five Spanish Jesuit priests in the Latin American country in 1989. Inocente Orlando Montano, 77, was found guilty of “terrorist murder”. The killings happened during El…
Independent TD Michael McNamara has raised questions concerning the legality of church lockdowns in the event of a public health emergency. Taking note of a disparity between the Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights, Mr McNamara has pointed out that “there is clearly a legal issue” about locking down on the basis of…
The Irish Catholic is delighted to announce the appointment of two new journalists. Ruadhán Jones and Jason Osborne have joined the editorial department as Multimedia Journalists working across the newspaper’s print, digital, video and audio output. Mr Jones is a native of Cork and holds a bachelor’s degree in film and screen media and English…
Donations remained strong in 2019, but the effects of Covid-19 cast a shadow over the future, writes Ruadhán Jones On the surface of it, the annual report for 2019/20 from Trócaire is a positive one, in so far as these ever are. However, the arrival of Covid-19 hangs as a cloud over both fundraising and development…
A spokesman for China’s foreign ministry said that China’s interim deal with the Vatican has been “implemented successfully”. He made the remark days before the provisional agreement signed by the Vatican and China on September 22, 2018, is due to expire. “With the concerted efforts from both sides, the interim agreement on the appointment of…
A senior Vatican official arrived in Belarus for talks after the leader of the country’s Catholic Church was barred from returning to his homeland. Belarusian state media reported on September 11 that Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher was in Belarus for four days of diplomatic talks a month after the country’s disputed presidential election triggered widespread protests. The…
Chai Brady
Ruadhán Jones