After 283 years, the last of the Penal Laws in Ireland has been repealed by proposals to restore power-sharing that was backed by Stormont parties on January 10. The proposals put forward by Tánaiste Simon Coveney and Northern Secretary Julian Smith will repeal the Administration of Justice Act (Irish Language Act) 1737. Recognition It will…
Irish Catholics can support “dwindling” Faith communities in the Holy Land by visiting them and showing solidarity as they face increasing threat from Muslim extremism, an Irish bishop has said. During a visit to Palestinian Christians in the occupied territories of the Holy Land this week Bishop Alan McGuckian SJ of Raphoe said the number…
A secondary school pupil in Derry is causing waves on social media after refusing to follow school policy and shave his beard. Carrick McClean of St Columb’s College Derry received a huge reaction on Twitter with almost 3,000 likes and hundreds of comments of support after he published a letter he sent to his principal…
Fr Martin Magill says the return of power sharing is the new beginning he had hoped for. “Listening to people and politicians there’s no doubt about it, it has changed the atmosphere and lifted the mood, the fact that we have people dedicated to key issues.” said Magill, the parish priest of St John’s on…
The political party Aontú is set to have at least 20 candidates in the general election on February 8, according to Meath TD and party leader Peadar Tóibín. He says they hope to obtain 4% of the vote, which would mean about 40,000 first preferences – twice the amount needed for the party to begin…
The Vatican has insisted that Pope emeritus Benedict XVI did not authorise his name to be given as the co-author of a new book along with Cardinal Robert Sarah on the topic of priestly celibacy. The book – published in French yesterday – gave the impression that Benedict wrote the defence of priestly celibacy along…
The president of Brazil’s Supreme Court has issued an order that allows streaming service Netflix to continue exhibiting a satirical film depicting Jesus as a gay man and reaffirmed Brazilians’ right to free speech. “It is not to be assumed that a humorous satire has the magic power to undermine the values of the Christian…
An Irish missionary has decried the violence and kidnapping of religious in Nigeria as “complete anarchy”, after four seminarians were abducted last week in Kaduna state. Fr Kevin O’Hara SPMS, who is based in the country, said that “scores of priests and sisters have been kidnapped in the past few years”, with many being killed…
Catholics in India are seeking to erect the nation’s tallest statue of Jesus, over objections by Hindi groups who say one of their gods lives on the hill designated for the project. Work began earlier this month on the statue, planned to be nearly 100 feet tall, on 10 acres of land owned by the…
A five-year-old British girl, whose parents won a legal battle to take her to Italy for medical treatment, has been moved out of intensive care, and into a rehabilitative unit for children with incurable illnesses. Tafida Raqeeb was transferred to the Galini Children’s Hospital in Genoa from the Royal London Hospital, where she had been…
Chai Brady