Vatican recognises ‘rogue’ exorcist group A Vatican-recognised group of exorcists has issued a new handbook for practitioners of the Church’s ritual to combat demonic possession, among other things insisting that authority to perform exorcisms belongs exclusively to priests assigned by their diocesan bishop and no one else. According to figures from the group, the move comes…
Summit pushes for Church finance reform Broad reforms that would contribute to greater accountability and transparency regarding Church finances are needed to address the financial crisis the Church faces and is intensifying because of the coronavirus pandemic, said a report emerging from a winter summit of lay, religious and clergy leaders. The report assembled by…
Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín has insisted that the failure to protect residents in nursing homes from coronavirus must be fully investigated. “The deaths in nursing homes and the failures of the Government is a national scandal and must be examined and investigated to ensure that they never occur again,” he told The Irish Catholic. Of…
Jason Osborne Doras, a Limerick-based migrant and refugee support organisation, has raised renewed concerns over the safety of residents in Direct Provision following the report of alleged sexual assault in an accommodation centre. “People fleeing harm should not be exposed to further harm when they arrive here in Ireland,” said Doras CEO, John Lannon. “The…
Prof. Patricia Casey has described as “ludicrous” new plans by the Minister for Children to legalise the self-declaration of gender for children, and called for a proper, open debate on the issue. Speaking to The Irish Catholic, Prof. Casey said that “it’s ludicrous to be giving the choice of such a momentous procedure to children and…
Churches should be treated like any other institution when it comes to covid grants, said Fianna Fáil TD Jackie Cahill. Deputy Cahill told The Irish Catholic that Churches loss of income and expenses accrued as a result of lockdown should be taken into account. “Like many other institutions, Churches’ sources of income have been greatly restricted,” said…
A Hungarian Christian Democrat member of the European Parliament has warned that growing secularism is to blame for Europe’s silence on human rights violations against religious minorities. As the parliament debated the 2019 human rights annual report, György Hölvényi MEP insisted that “if Europe, guided by extreme secularism, is silent on violations against religious minorities,…
Nearly every US bishop responding to a survey said the coronavirus pandemic has seriously affected the celebration of the sacraments and rites and sacramental preparation programmes in their dioceses. Confirmations, first Communions, the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults and other sacramental preparation were the ministries most often cited by the bishops as being affected,…
Free speech specialist and lawyer Ivan Hare has attacked proposals which could “suppress expression which is at the heart of political debate” in the North. The proposals are set out in a recent review of the region’s ‘hate crime’ laws, spearheaded by Judge Desmond Marrinan. Mr Hare wrote in an article for The Christian Institute that proposals…
Staff at the Pope John XXIII hospital in Bergamo – once the epicentre of the Covid-19 pandemic in Italy – have announced that they have no more patients with coronavirus in their intensive care unit. After 137 days of trying to keep critically ill patients alive, staff gathered for a moment of silence to remember…
Ruadhán Jones