The Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) this week launched #ThePowerofVote campaign, calling on citizens to use their vote in the upcoming European Parliament elections to protect the rights of asylum seekers and refugees. Recent practices in Europe, such as the absence of safe and legal pathways to protection; the extensive use of detention of asylum seekers;…
Australia’s Catholic population fell by 2.7% between 2011 and 2016, but Catholics are more likely to have a higher education, according to an analysis of census data by the National Centre for Pastoral Research. Analysing statistics from the country’s 2016 census, the centre reported on April 4 in its ‘Social Profile of the Catholic Community…
A coffee shop set up with the support of over a dozen different Catholic groups offers a model of outreach and co-operation which could be vital for the Church going forward, organisers say. Brew132 on Cork’s Washington Street aims to provide a place where students on their way to and from college might be exposed…
Pope Francis to celebrate Holy Thursday with prisoners Pope Francis will celebrate the Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord’s Supper with prisoners in Velletri, about 36 miles south of Rome. The Pope will celebrate the Mass and the foot-washing ritual at the Velletri Correctional Facility on April 18, the Vatican announced last week. The late-afternoon visit will include a meeting with prisoners,…
Sometimes Christians seem to prefer complaining and being unhappy in life, but that makes them a perfect target for the devil, Pope Francis has said in a morning homily. “Desolation is from the serpent”, who tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden and who “always bites” when a person sinks in despair, the pope said…
Lucien Chauvin A Peruvian archbishop has won a defamation suit against a local journalist in a long-running case involving alleged cover-up in an abuse scandal. A court in Piura, on the northern coast, ruled late on April 8 in favour of Archbishop Jose Eguren Anselmi of Piura in the suit against journalist Pedro Salinas.…
The introduction of “no-fault” divorces in the United Kingdom will undermine marriages from the outset, the Catholic bishops of England and Wales have said. In the first major overhaul of U.K. divorce law for 50 years, the British government announced on April 9 that it would allow couples to split up simply by filing a…
BREAKING Ireland’s longest-serving diocesan bishop has welcomed the appointment of his successor as “a new beginning” for the Diocese of Cork and Ross. Dublin archdiocesan chancellor Fr Fintan Gavin was this morning announced as Bishop-elect of Cork and Ross, with the diocese’s bishop emeritus, Bishop John Buckley, declaring that “It is a great honour for…
An Irish homelessness charity has welcomed an initiative that offers homeless people a fixed postal address at their local post office. An Post says it is Europe’s first free personal address and mail collection service for people living in temporary accommodation or are homeless. Merchants Quay Ireland (MQI) Homeless Service Coordinator, Fiona McDonnell said: “We…
Christians must be courageous when praying to God and not simply repeat prayers “like a parrot”, Pope Francis has said. “In common parlance, people use an expression that I really like when they have a goal: ‘I put it all on the line’. In intercessory prayers, this also applies: ‘I put it all on the…
Greg Daly
Chai Brady