The High Court has agreed to hear in September a bid from the parents of Tafida Raqeeb to take her to Italy for treatment. The five-year-old girl has been comatose since February, and UK doctors want to remove her life-sustaining treatment. The UK doctors have barred Raqeeb’s parents from taking her abroad for treatment. Two…
One of the churches in Sri Lanka damaged in attacks on Easter was re-consecrated on Sunday. During the ceremony, the Archbishop of Colombo criticised the government’s investigation of the attacks. St Sebastian’s parish in Negombo, nearly 25 miles north of Colombo, was re-consecrated on July 21 by Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith. The church was one of…
Bishop condemns Westminster MPs undermining devolution The vote by Westminster MPs aimed at imposing abortion on Northern Ireland if Stormont does not reconvene by October 21 has been described as an “inherently bad decision”, by the Bishop of Derry, Donal McKeown. The Westminster vote is uniting Christians of all denominations in protest at the…
While the date July 12 usually provokes fears about violence and sectarianism in the North of Ireland, a priest on the frontline has said this year was the “quietest ever”. Fr Gary Donegan CP, nationally renowned for his ongoing commitment to conflict resolution and peace building in the country, said that while there was some…
An Irish nun has been congratulated by the President of Ireland for decades of work in Pakistan, and for being awarded the highest honour of St Mary’s University, Twickenham in London. Hailing from Co. Clare, Sr Berchmans Conway (89) was presented with the Benedict Medal by the Archbishop of Westminster and Chancellor of St Mary’s…
Vincent Lambert, a 42-year-old quadriplegic man, died in a French hospital last week, nine days after doctors withdrew his food and water. “Vincent died at 8.24 this morning,” Lambert’s nephew, Francois Lambert, told AFP News Agency. Lambert died on July 11 at University Hospital in the northern French city of Reims, where doctors had withdrawn his…
As the world celebrates the anniversary of the moon landing people should remember the “gruesome” situation many migrants face along the Earth’s man-made borders, a leading theologian and academic has said. It was July 20, 1969 when Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the moon during the Apollo 11 mission. Prof. Eamonn…
A row has broken out between two leading scientists over whether science and religion are compatible. Prof. David McConnell, Pro-Chancellor at Trinity College Dublin, a former lecturer in genetics, has said that science has “made it difficult for many people to believe in dogmatic religion”. The honorary president of the Humanist Association of Ireland wrote…
The Venezuelan bishops asked last Thursday that president Nicolas Maduro resign from the office which he “illegitimately” exercises and that a new president be elected in the shortest time possible. “In face of the reality of an illegitimate and failed government, Venezuela is crying out for a change of direction, a return to the Constitution.…
The Catholic bishops of Haiti have announced a year of prayer and adoration for the country, which continues to face heightened tensions and instability amid calls for President Jovenel Moise to resign. “The misery has become so sharp and the insecurity so destabilising that the tree of hope has been torn from the ground,” the…
Chai Brady
Colm Fitzpatrick