Venezuelan guards launch tear-gas bombs in church While protests against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro raged across the country, National Guard forces loyal to the embattled head of state launched tear gas at churchgoers attending Mass at a local parish. In a letter published on May 2, Bishop Mario del Valle Moronta Rodriguez of San Cristobal…
Republican Gov. Brian Kemp signed legislation this week to ban abortions in Georgia once a foetal heartbeat is detected, which is around six weeks. The bill’s signing comes after weeks of protests and amid outcry for legal action against it. “We will not back down. We will always continue to fight for life,” the governor…
Persecuted Christian Asia Bibi, who spent eight years on death row until her release last year, has reached Canada and is now reunited with her family. David Turner, Director of Church in Chains in Ireland, described it as “an encouraging day for Christians in Pakistan, for Asia justice has finally been done, but there’s a…
Migrants are not a threat to a nation’s cultures, traditions and value, Pope Francis has said. Every nation is a product of immigration and the integration of diverse peoples, united by specific values, cultures and “healthy traditions”, he said. That is why any nation that “stirs up nationalistic sentiments in its people against other nations…
Exclusive Latest figures show some congregations face ‘unsustainable’ future Greg Daly, Chai Brady and Colm Fitzpatrick The financial situation of many religious orders in Ireland is at breaking point, with some admitting that their future is financially unsustainable, an investigation by The Irish Catholic has revealed. Overall, the majority of orders in Ireland are spending vastly more than…
The South West Province of the Presentation Sisters are in the process of donating three acres of valuable land in Cork city to charity. The site of the Presentation Convent in Turner’s Cross is set to be donated to the Good Shepherd Sisters in Cork who run Edel House, in order to “alleviate the housing…
Though far away from the centre of the action in Rome, Bishop Celestino Aos, the temporary head of the embattled Archdiocese of Santiago, Chile, has a tough job. He’s replacing a cardinal being investigated for cover-up of clerical sexual abuse, whose predecessor is also being questioned by local prosecutors. During the Easter season, Bishop Aos…
Australia’s prime minister has said that the Sri Lankan militant group blamed for the Easter bombings that killed at least 250 people had support from the Islamic State group, a day after Sri Lankan officials said they were still evaluating foreign ties. Prime Minister Scott Morrison told reporters last Friday that he could confirm links…
A new Vatican department focused on evangelisation will succeed if it can channel the vision Pope Francis mapped out at the start of his papacy, Raphoe’s Bishop Alan McGuckian has said. Speaking to The Irish Catholic about plans for a Vatican ‘super-dicastery’ Bishop McGuckian said he hoped that the plan will point to real leadership…
The Archdiocese of Baltimore has published an additional 23 names of priests who had been accused of child sexual abuse after they were deceased. All of the allegations have been previously reported to law enforcement, in most cases more than a decade ago. Released on April 24, the 23 additional names join 103 other clergy…
Chai Brady
Greg Daly