Pope Francis joined Catholic Church leaders expressing sorrow after back-to-back mass shootings in the US left at least 31 dead and dozens injured in Texas and Ohio last weekend. After the Angelus in St Peter’s Square on August 4, the Pope said he wanted to convey his spiritual closeness to the victims, the wounded and…
With almost a dozen Dominican sisters leaving the Muckross Park convent in Dublin this week the local parish administrator has said it is a “loss to the community”. Multitudes of tributes have been paid to the sisters after the main convent building in Donnybrook closed in a decision made last year on foot of a…
The president of the Polish bishops’ conference condemned attacks on clergy and places of worship in the traditionally Catholic country as the Church countered media accusations of inciting violence against LGBTQ groups. Archbishop Stanislaw Gadecki of Poznan said that “ever more frequent attacks of hatred against believing people and priests” were a growing concern for…
An Irish academic’s call for children to be taught the ‘positive’ aspects of porn has been described as “inherently exploitative”. Writing on the RTÉ.ie website, porn researcher Kate Dawson said, “there is a real need for youth to be equipped with information about pornography and be supported in developing skills necessary to critique sexual representations…
Catholics in a northern Philippines archdiocese marched in support of Church leaders accused of conspiring to overthrow President Rodrigo Duterte. About 3,000 Church workers, students and parishioners from the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan carried placards last week with messages expressing support for Archbishop Socrates Villegas and other accused Church leaders during a July 31 prayerful demonstration,…
New Jersey’s new law allowing assisted suicide, effective at the beginning of this month, “points to an “utter failure” on the part of government and indeed all society, said Bishop James Checchio of Metuchen. It is the failure “to care truly, authentically and humanely for the suffering and vulnerable in our midst especially those living…
The discovery of an ancient monastic site just outside Drogheda is “significant” as it offers an insight into how religious lived at the time. Dom Richard Purcell, abbot of Mount Melleray Abbey, told this newspaper that the 13th–Century Cistercian settlement which is currently under excavation in Meath’s Beamore “tells us more about the life of…
A Catholic diocese in Congo has boosted measures to protect its congregations against Ebola, after the latest outbreak was declared an international emergency by the World Health Organisation. “The Goma Diocese is joining the general preoccupation with preventive precautions,” said a statement issued by Msgr Jacques Letakamba, diocesan chancellor. “Washing will now be obligatory for…
Famous singer Katy Perry has been ordered to pay a Christian rapper thousands after a judge ruled that she copied elements of his song. Gospel artist Flame – real name Marcus Gray – sued the 34-year-old popstar after he successfully showed the court that her 2013 hit ‘Dark Horse’ was based on his song ‘Joyful…
A well-known lay organisation’s national congress will focus both on the challenging times the Church currently faces, and plans for the future. St Joseph’s Young Priests Society (SJYPS) will hold their congress in Dublin City University from August 24-25. The society decided on the theme ‘Be not afraid – the Lord is my shepherd’, saying…
Chai Brady
Colm Fitzpatrick