The bishop of Clogher has called on people to take action to save biodiversity, as after the pandemic “we cannot be healthy if the planet is not healthy”. In a pastoral letter for the Season of Creation, Bishop Larry Duffy said Covid-19 has shown how “deeply connected everything is”, and “how vulnerable we are as…
Monasteries around the country have been receiving increased calls from people experiencing despair about the meaning of life since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in March. Speaking to The Irish Catholic, Sr Fiachra of St Mary’s Abbey, Co. Waterford, told of calls from “lots of people”, with those living in “apartments in cities” heavily represented.…
Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz, a Belarusian citizen appointed to Minsk in 2007 after serving as a bishop in Russia, was barred from returning to Belarus after his pastoral letter was read at churches. The letter warned of civil war, as security forces confronted demonstrators protesting the election of President Alexander Lukashenko. Archbishop Kondrusiewicz said he had…
Pope Francis will visit the Italian town of Assisi on October 3 to sign a new encyclical. In a statement released on Saturday, the Director of the Holy See Press Office, Matteo Bruni, said the encyclical is entitled Fratelli tutti or ‘All brothers and sisters’ on fraternity and social friendship. The title, whose official English-…
Bishop of Limerick Brendan Leahy has urged Catholics to take encouragement from the spirit of volunteerism that has been on display in parishes and communities throughout the coronavirus pandemic. Speaking as he announced the annual clerical changes for the diocese, Bishop Leahy said that the combined issues of the vocations crisis and ageing priests is…
US President Donald Trump has released a letter addressed to “pro-life leaders and activists” indicating his intention to advance legislative and administrative priorities against abortion if he is elected to a second term. “As I seek re-election this November, I need your help in contrasting my bold pro-life leadership with Joe Biden’s abortion extremism,” Mr Trump’s…
Trócaire has announced the decision to permanently close its Cathedral Street office in Dublin city centre from the end of September. The charitable agency of the Church recently reviewed the sustainability of the office, coming to the conclusion that it is no longer viable. They have been in operation on the site since 1983. Trócaire CEO…
Pro-life advocates have been asked to create a flag for the movement which is open to pro-life designers around the world. Irish pro-life group The Life Institute has partnered with the Pro-Life Flag Project, an initiative aimed at facilitating the creation of a universal, freely-reproducible pro-life flag. Niamh Uí Bhriain of The Life Institute said…
Bishop Donal McKeown has said that correcting someone is meant to help people, “not nourish my spiritual ego”. In a homily delivered in St Eugene’s Cathedral, Co. Derry, over the weekend, Bishop McKeown spoke about Church community and the challenges of a culture that does not forgive. He said: “John the Baptist, Jesus and the…
Catholic leaders in the US have welcomed the news that one of the world’s biggest vaccine producers has decided to discontinue a polio vaccine derived from an abortion foetal cell line. Sanofi-Pasteur will instead use an ethical animal cell line in the production of its polio vaccine. The company, among the three largest vaccine manufacturers…
Chai Brady