A pair of passion plays were interrupted by gunfire on Good Friday as the violence convulsing Mexico continued claiming lives through the Holy Week holidays. An annual procession in Acapulco was suspended after the sound of gunshots sent participants and spectators fleeing, according to local press reports. The Guerrero state government said police were chasing…
Category: News
Irish-born bishop retires
Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Bishop Thomas John Curry as Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles for reasons of age. He has reached the retirement age for bishops of 75. The resignation was publicised in Washington, April 3, 2018, by Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States. Bishop Curry…
Eighth Amendment information politically motivated
A leading pro-life activist has criticised information provided in a fact sheet outlining the implications of the planned referendum on the repeal of the Eighth Amendment in Ireland, arguing that it is the product of a “political campaigning tool”. Commenting on the information published by the Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (IOG) of the Royal…
Pope Francis washes feet of a dozen prisoners in Rome
Before washing the feet of 12 prisoners, Pope Francis told them and hundreds of inmates to remember that Jesus constantly stands before them with love, ready to cleanse their sins and forgive them. “Jesus takes a risk on each of us. Know this: Jesus is called Jesus, not Pontius Pilate. Jesus does not know how…
Medical evidence gives no reason for repeal – experts
A leading pro-life obstetrician has said that there is no justified medical incentive or reason to repeal the Eighth Amendment in Ireland, and that medical opinion is being overshadowed by personal views. Speaking at the launch of Save the 8th’s referendum campaign last week, Dr John Monaghan, who is based at Portiuncula Hospital in Ballinasloe,…
Economic progress but grave challenges remain for Iraqi Christians
A top official with Catholic Relief Services, visiting northern Iraq, said new life is evident for those who suffered the injustices and atrocities of the so-called Islamic State invasion of their ancestral lands but some grave challenges remain. “I see the hope of the Resurrection, while still the experience of the Cross is the reality…
Poll shows three quarters of Catholics in United States planned to attend church at Easter
A new poll shows that 73% of respondents who identified as Catholic said they would be attending church for Easter, with 53% of all Americans saying they planned to attend church services on Easter Sunday. Among respondents who said they were practicing Catholics, 95% said they planned to go to Easter Mass. For Good Friday,…
Members on both sides of abortion debate to get Fine Gael funding
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has agreed that party members who are not in favour of repealing the Eighth Amendment can use party funds to print campaign literature. Fine Gael will not pay for posters as well as television, radio or newspaper advertising, in addition the party press office are not issuing comments in favour of either…
Exciting times ahead for Waterford & Lismore in WMOF preparations
Olivia Elliot The ninth World Meeting of Families, celebrating the joy of being part of God’s family of families, will be opened in Cathedrals throughout Ireland in less than five months’ time. The countdown is underway and the excitement is really tangible. In the Diocese of Waterford and Lismore we are in preparation mode. On…
Vatican Roundup
Clergy urged: spread Good News to ‘new culture’ of youth If Jesus and his truth are to become truly present in today’s world, priests must do what Jesus did and be “street preachers”, going out to encounter and accompany sinners with tenderness and compassion, Pope Francis told the world’s priests. Jesus “could have been a scribe or a doctor of the law, but he…