The Church in the North will continue to resist efforts to divide the community even if a hard border follows a no-deal Brexit, Derry’s Bishop Donal McKeown has said. Speaking against the background of a UNESCO-backed report that claims young people in the North would be groomed into violence by extremist and terrorist organisations following…
Colm Fitzpatrick and Greg Daly Parishioners must play a more active role in keeping their local churches afloat, Waterford and Lismore’s bishop Phonsie Cullinan has warned. Dr Cullinan said that lay people are called to be involved in and support the Church which at a “very nuts and bolts” level requires financial contribution in their local parish. His…
A Dublin priest who is embracing technology has said parishes that set up online sites facilitating online payments could encourage young people to make donations. Spearheading the Archdiocese of Dublin’s new initiative that allows parishioners to make card payments in Church, Fr John Bracken of Dundrum parish said to further tackle declining donations an online…
Pope Francis has restored priestly faculties to 94-year-old Fr Ernesto Cardenal, who had been suspended in 1984 for holding a cabinet position in Nicaragua’s Sandinista government, in violation of canon law. “The Holy Father has graciously granted the absolution of all canonical censures imposed on Rev. Fr Ernesto Cardenal, accepting the request he had recently…
A Dublin parish has expressed “great joy” after hearing Blessed John Henry Newman is set to be canonised after approval from Pope Francis. Fr Bill Dailey of Newman University Church in Dublin, founded by Blessed John Henry, said that so many people feel a great attachment to the church. “Catholics have a sense that a…
A famous Hollywood actress has said that her Catholic faith pushed her towards supporting charities and tacking causes of injustice and poverty. Patricia Heaton, best known for her roles as Debra Barone on the long-running hit comedy Everybody Loves Raymond and as Frankie Heck in The Middle, said that donating to charity was important to…
A priest who called the British army for help just 30 minutes before he was killed was “taking his life into his own hands without hesitation” to help others, according to Belfast-based Fr Paddy McCafferty. Fr Hugh Mullan, one of the 10 people shot dead during the Ballymurphy Massacre in 1971, had called for assistance…
Ireland will be in “uncharted territory” if it makes a willingness to participate in abortions a condition of employment in hospitals, Baroness Nuala O’Loan has warned. Baroness O’Loan, who has been an outspoken advocate for the conscience rights of medical professionals, was speaking after the National Maternity Hospital advertised posts stipulating that successful applicants would…
Dioceses in the state of New Jersey made public on February 13 the names of priests whom they said had been “credibly accused” of sexual abuse of minors, and one of the names is former US Cardinal Theodore McCarrick. The former US cardinal’s name appears in the list from the Archdiocese of Newark with a…
The Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland has paid tribute to a Tyrone priest after his sudden death over the weekend. Fr Phelim McKeown was a “caring and pastoral priest” who had a “particular empathy for those who were suffering and struggling in any way”. Fr Phelim was ordained in 1996 in Mullaghbawn…
Greg Daly
Chai Brady