Pope sets up commission to study women deacons A new commission which will look into the possibility of having women deacons in the Church was instituted by Pope Francis last week. The Holy See released an announcement in their daily noon bulletin which contained the information that the Pope had decided to create a new…
Chinese Catholics provide food to Covid-19 hit Flippinos More than €75,000 was collected by Catholics in China and donated to the Philippines to buy rice and other food for the poor in Manila. Many of those in the slum area of the city are jobless, with no income and hungry due to a government-imposed lockdown…
Róise McGagh Archbishop Eamon Martin, Primate of All-Ireland has issued a hopeful message for the people of Ireland after the announcement of extended coronavirus restrictions until May 5. In his Easter message the archbishop shared a memory of his mother, “leaving a basin of water out in the back yard on a bright Easter…
Róise McGagh Bishop Alphonsus Cullinan walked through an empty Waterford City yesterday morning carrying a large cross over his shoulder in commemoration of Good Friday. He invited people to take out their own cross, crucifix or light a candle and spend some time in silent prayer. “Some people stopped some knelt, there is something about…
The story of how one Donegal priest’s resilence helped save his parish will be told in a new documentary airing on TG4 for Easter Sunday. Actor Stephen Rea narrates ‘Meitheal’, which explores how Gleann Colm Cille became a self-sufficient community with the support of Fr James Canon McDyer. The documentary looks at the parish’s struggle…
The Primate of All-Ireland Archbishop Eamon Martin has said the promises priests make at ordination are “more important than ever” during the coronavirus crisis, “especially the call to offer daily the Eucharistic sacrifice for our people, the world and ourselves”. He said that “if we can search deep into the roots of our vocation to…
Róise McGagh and Chai Brady Hard-pressed priests are facing cuts to their already modest salaries as church closure have led to a severe fall in income for parishes and dioceses across Ireland. A number of priests have told The Irish Catholic they are concerned about having to rely on their families for support. The Diocese…
Cardinal George Pell was acquitted of all convictions of child abuse by Australia’s Supreme Court following claims “bias media” and a legal system “disaster” was to blame for his initial conviction. The former Vatican treasurer walked free from jail this week after convictions relating to the sexual assault of two teenage choirboys in the 1990s were…
A priest’s decision to allow the Muslim call to prayer to feature during a Mass in Mayo was “misguided”, according to an expert on the Church in the Arab world. Fr Stephen Farragher of Ballyhaunis Parish organised for members of the Muslim community in Ballyhaunis to say the final prayer at 10am morning Mass last…
One of the Church’s most senior members has walked free from prison in Australia after the country’s High Court decided to quash his child sex abuse conviction this week. Cardinal George Pell, 78, was acquitted of sexually assaulting two teenage choirboys in the 1990s, allowing him to be released from jail on April 7. The…
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Chai Brady