An essential characteristic of Christian community is its unity in diversity, and the freedom this gives to Christians to come alive as witnesses of Christ, Pope Francis said today. The selection of Matthias to take Judas’ place among the Twelve Apostles, as told at the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles, is the “reunification…
The annual Clonard Novena which draws in thousands each year promises to remind us of that “we can all be saints” in our complex, modern lives. Each year, the Novena follows a carefully worked out theme which is explored through preaching and the specially commissioned booklet with additional reflections. This year, the theme of the…
Pope Francis praised Allied troops who took part in critical D-Day landings in France 75 years ago, while also remembering German soldiers who died fighting under Nazi orders. “We know the landings on June 6, 1944, here in Normandy were decisive in the struggle against Nazi barbarism, allowing a path to open towards ending a…
The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have banned the National Institutes of Health from using human foetal stem cells from electively aborted babies for government funded research. The department also issued a $20 million (€17.6 million) grant for research to develop models that do not rely on human foetal tissue yesterday. HHS…
Cardinal George Pell was taken back to prison at the end of a two-day hearing on his appeal of his conviction on five counts of child sexual abuse. A three-judge panel from the Appeals Division of the Supreme Court of Victoria said it would announce its judgment at a later date yesterday (June 6), giving…
Police in Vietnam have been accused of abducting a Catholic advocate for social and charitable activities. Nguyen Thi Tinh said her husband Nguyen Nang Tinh, 43, was seized and pushed into a truck by police officers while he and their two sons were on their way to breakfast on May 29, ucanews.com reported. The official…
Priests need to be “courageous” when celebrating Catholic funerals of gang members, even if it could bring them into “serious confrontation”. Following a statement from the Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, decrying “show funerals” of criminals directly involved the “traffic of evil”, several diocesan priests said they understood the archbishop’s position and welcomed his leadership,…
Catholic bishops of East Africa have introduced a handbook to help Church leaders develop standards to safeguard the safety of children. Child Safeguarding – Standards and Guidelines: A Catholic Guide for Policy Development was introduced in the Kenyan capital by the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa, known as AMECEA. The release followed…
Philippine authorities are trying to win the hearts and minds of people amid allegations that police officers have been behind many of the thousands of drug-related killings that have stained the country’s image in recent years, ucanews.com reported. At a police camp in the central Philippines, police hosted a traditional ‘Flores de Mayo, (‘Flowers of…
This is an edited extract of Emma Tobin’s (22) speech at the Believers in the Digital World: Opportunities for Mission seminar. It’s a powerful thing, social media. I’ve tried to ignore it, tried to pretend it didn’t matter to me if people ‘liked’ what I said or not, but in reality, it does matter. It…
Chai Brady