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…
The vocations crisis is not a legitimate reason for supressing a parish, the Vatican has warned in a new set of rules on renewing parish and diocesan life. It said that non-legitimate reasons for closing a parish include a priest shortage and financial troubles in the diocese, as well as any other reason that is…
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…
Several Catholic bishops in Nigeria’s state of Oyo asked the federal and state governments to consider opening schools and churches closed in March due to the coronavirus pandemic. Bishops from six dioceses in and around the city of Ibadan said the closure of schools had increased crimes such as rape and other gender-based violence, especially…
Senator Ronan Mullen has questioned the new Minister for Children’s call to allow u16s to change their gender, saying it must be about children’s welfare not media campaigns. Senator Mullen told The Irish Catholic that “there should be no change in this area without a public debate and careful scrutiny of the issues in the Dáil and Seanad.”…
Homelessness charity Focus Ireland have welcomed the Government’s extension of the current protections for renters until August 1, adding there is a “pressing need” to continue the supports. Government ministers have expressed hopes they will have new legislation in place which will enable the measures to continue. Focus Ireland Policy Coordinator Rosemary Hennigan said the…
A Derry parish has suspended Mass after two parishioners tested positive for coronavirus having attending a family gathering. Fr Neil Farren of Ardmore parish announced the “sad news” in a video on the parish Facebook page. Speaking in the video, Fr Farren said: “I have sad news to relate to you at this time. We…
Cardinal Zenon Grocholewski, retired prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education, has died at the age of 80. A close collaborator with Pope St John Paul II and retired Pope Benedict XVI, the cardinal also spent almost 27 years working in the Apostolic Signature, the Church’s highest court. In a condolence message, Pope Francis said…
Three Catholic-run hospitals providing life-saving services free of charge to vulnerable Syrians hope to aid some 50,000 patients by the project’s end next year. “Institutions in Syria now are having a lot of difficulties…so, this project supporting these hospitals is helping them to go on,” said Flavia Chevallard, project coordinator for Operation Open Hospitals in…
Ruadhán Jones
Chai Brady