As up to 150 migrants are feared to have drowned in a shipwreck off the coast of Libya, Pope Francis made an appeal to the international community on Sunday to act decisively to ensure the safety and dignity of migrants. “I learned with pain the news of the dramatic shipwreck that occurred in recent days…
Fianna Fáil has said they are not opposed to referring the issue of assisted suicide to a Citizens’ Assembly for discussion, according to reports. A party spokesperson is quoted in the Medical Independent as saying they “would not oppose” this option. However, when contacted by this paper the party failed to answer a query relating…
Columbia’s first ever Tour de France winner wrapped up his historic victory on Sunday by making the sign of the cross with his younger brother and again with his mother. Egan Bernal, 22, the youngest cyclist to win the world’s most famous bicycle race in 110 years and the first Latin American to do so…
An injection of $1.1million (€1m) will benefit humanitarian programmes, the resettlement of refugees and internally displaced people, and peacebuilding efforts in violence-ravaged communities in South Sudan under a programme initiated by the Italian bishops’ conference. Spread over three years, the gift coincides with South Sudan’s eighth anniversary of independence and will aid the country’s recovery…
Bishop Brendan Kelly has dubbed the vandalism of a Galway mosque over the weekend as a “wilful and malicious assault”. The Bishop of Galway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora said himself and many of the people of Galway are “dismayed and shocked” at the attack on the Maryam Mosque in Galway city. He said: “An attack on…
Indonesian authorities released the names of a couple whom they believe to have orchestrated a January terrorist attack on a cathedral in the Philippines. Dedi Prasetyo, spokesman for Indonesia’s National Police, said last week that Rullie Rian Zeke and his wife Ulfah Handayani Saleh had detonated suicide bombs at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Cathedral…
Almost four months after a fire destroyed the roof of Notre-Dame de Paris, officials are concerned that the building is still at risk of collapse. Now instead of a fire threatening the 850-year-old building, it is the record summer temperatures that may further erode the stonework. France, and most of Europe, is in the midst…
Trócaire has condemned the demolition by Israeli authorities of Palestinian homes in the West Bank, describing such demolitions as illegal and driven by a desire to disconnect communities. Responding to reports from the Israeli human rights organisation B’Tselem that authorities planned to demolish 13 buildings – including at least 14 apartments – last week, the…
A senior Catholic Church official called on Philippine legislators to work for the benefit of the people and not blindly follow what President Rodrigo Duterte wants, including his plan to reinstate the death penalty. Rodolfo Diamante, executive secretary of the Episcopal Commission on Prison Pastoral Care, urged members of Congress “not to pass measures just…
Pope calls for ‘apostolate of prevention’ against abuse In an unscripted video message that appears to have been recorded on a mobile phone, Pope Francis spoke of the need for an “apostolate of prevention” to protect minors from abuse. “Prevention. Prevention. Because you never know where a child will be abused, where the child will…
Chai Brady