Pope Francis is praying for the victims of the recent attack on a Catholic church in Burkina Faso, the interim head of the Holy See press office has said. “The Holy Father learned with sorrow the news of the attack on the church in Dablo, in #BurkinaFaso. He prays for the victims, for their families…
The commission Pope Francis appointed to study the history and identity of women deacons did not reach a unanimous conclusion about whether deaconesses in the early church were “ordained” or formally “blessed”, the Pope has said. “What is fundamental is that there was no certainty that there was an ordination with the same form and…
Fine Gael is out of step with the Christian Democrat parties with which it shares a platform in the European Parliament, according to a former senator who lost the party whip in 2013 when she voted against the legalisation of abortion. “I just think that they’ve lost all sight of principle. That doesn’t seem to…
Ireland’s very own ‘Rosary priest’ has died, aged 97. Fr Gabriel Harty OP, the senior member of Ireland’s Dominican province, passed away on Thursday in Drogheda’s Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital. Known as ‘the Rosary Priest of Ireland’, Fr Harty was known for his decades of promoting the Rosary through preaching, missions and publication of…
Pro-life campaigners from across Canada gathered on Ottawa’s Parliament Hill last week for the country’s annual National March for Life. Carrying a variety of handmade and pre-printed signs in a variety of languages, pro-life advocates, school groups, families, and clergy turned out to mark the 50th year of legal abortion in the country. Police declined…
There has been a mixed reaction in Ireland to norms published by Pope Francis to tackle abuse and cover-up in the Church. Archbishop Eamon Martin has hailed Vos Estis Lux Mundi (‘You are the Light of the World’), the Pope’s apostolic letter on safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults as “a significant move for the…
The Ebola outbreak that began last August in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has now claimed more than 1,000 lives, the nation’s health ministry has confirmed. Efforts to contain the disease have been hampered by misinformation and distrust on the part of local communities, who in some cases have retaliated against health teams by…
A group which represents more than 1,000 Irish priests has said Pope Francis’ comments about the status of women deacons is a “major disappointment”. The reaction comes after the Pope revealed that the 2016 commission he appointed to study women deacons in the early Church could not reach a consensus on whether female ordination was…
The Mexican Bishops’ Conference has made a public request for help from the country’s authorities, as well as all people of good will, in addressing the migration crisis at the country’s southern border. In a May 7 statement entitled ‘Request for Help’, the bishops noted that “we Mexicans have always been known for our joy,…
CCTV cameras are helping to reduce crime in churches and are improving parishioners’ safety, a priest has said. Fr Declan Hurley of Navan’s St Mary’s parish told this newspaper that the church’s security camera system increases the chances of criminals being identified, creating a safer environment for worship. “We have the constant passage of people…
Greg Daly
Colm Fitzpatrick