A professional Irish boxer has revealed he regularly prays before fights and that he had Rosary beads tattooed on his neck so he’ll never lose them. Well-known boxer Michael Conlan, from Belfast, was speaking on RTÉ’s The Tommy Tiernan Show when he revealed the story behind his tattoo. “I always prayed before a fight but…
Nine out of 10 voters for Irish political party Aontú attend religious services on a weekly basis, according to a recent exit poll. The poll found that the all-Ireland Republican party had the most church-goers with 79% of its members attending once a week, with 11% saying they go to Mass every day. Aontú, meaning…
Pontiff says Church shouldn’t clericalise women Pope Francis has warned against ‘clericalising’ women in the Church and apparently ignored a request from bishops in the Amazon region to consider ordaining married men to alleviate the vocations crisis. It had been widely anticipated by some commentators that the Pontiff’s new document Querida Amazonia (Beloved Amazonia)…
The leader of Aontú has said despite not reaching 2% of first preference votes in the General Election they are “delighted” at the support they’ve received from the electorate. Although the party will miss out on State funding, which was just 0.1% from their grasp, Peadar Tóibín TD was positive about the party’s future. “Obviously…
A precious relic belonging to St John Henry Newman was stolen from the Birmingham Oratory, it was announced this week. The Oratory said that the bone was stolen from its casket in the Newman Shrine. The Fathers have appealed for anyone who had seen any suspicious activity to come forward. “Sadly, the only piece of…
Pope Francis has appealed for the protection of women and children fleeing violence in Syria, where more than half a million people have been displaced in the past two months. Around 520,000 have been displaced from their homes since December during the Syrian government’s offensive in Idlib province – Syria’s last rebel-held territory – which…
Bishop Donal McKeown acknowledged the shortcomings of the institutional Church in response to the Troubles at the end of the 4 Corners Festival Belfast on Sunday evening. He discussed the book Considering Grace – Presbyterians and the Troubles by Gladys Ganiel and Jamie Yohanis in St John the Evangelist Parish Hall, West Belfast. The book…
The Prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication has claimed that media has degenerated into platforms on which to disseminate hatred. Dr Paolo Ruffini said that communication is supposed to be constructive, connect people and promote understanding. However, the Vatican representative states that just as “evil cannot be fought with evil, truth cannot be served…
A Northern Irish charity has dubbed an MLA’s decision to speak openly about gambling’s severe impact on his life as “exceptionally brave”. CARE NI Policy OfficerMark Baillie welcomed Philip McGuigan’s openness regarding an addiction to gambling that cost him more than £100,000. “Stories like his help to raise awareness about the harms problem gambling can…
The Bangladesh High Court has called for the government to justify its stance on allowing prenatal gender detection technology, which groups favouring gender equality and the right to life are seeking to ban. The court stated that the government must explain its failure to regulate the technology should not be considered as illegal. Supreme Court…
Chai Brady
Michael Kelly