At the end of a highly unusual spiritual retreat for the political leaders of warring factions, Pope Francis knelt at the feet of the leaders of South Sudan, begging them to give peace a chance and to be worthy “fathers of the nation.” “As a brother, I ask you to remain in peace. I ask…
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has signed a bill that would make it illegal to carry out an abortion once a foetal heartbeat is detected. “The function of government is to protect the most vulnerable among us, those who do not have a voice. Government’s role should be to protect life from the beginning to the…
The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has banned an Irish-born Legionaries of Christ priest from publicly exercising his priestly ministry for 10 years after he was convicted in Chile of sexually abusing a young girl. Fr John O’Reilly was convicted in Chile in 2014 and sentenced to four years of ‘supervised liberty.’ When…
While Catholic marriage ceremonies are still the most popular in Ireland there has been dramatic decline, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO). The figures also reveal Irish grooms are now the oldest on record. The CSO data for last year shows that on average men are now aged 36.4 when they tie the knot.…
Retired Pope Benedict XVI, acknowledging his role in helping the Church come to terms with the clerical sexual abuse crisis, wrote an article outlining his thoughts about what must be done now. Seeing the crisis as rooted in the “egregious event” of the cultural and sexual revolution in the Western world in the 1960s and…
18-year-olds leave care with nowhere to go Chai Brady and Hannah Harn A group that supports vulnerable teenagers has accused Children’s Minister Katherine Zappone of ignoring the plight of young people who fall into homelessness after leaving State care. Neil Forsyth of the Irish Aftercare Network told The Irish Catholic that he believes Ms Zappone is “blinkered” on…
President Michael D. Higgins has led tributes to Trócaire aid worker Sally O’Neill who died following a road accident in Guatemala. Mrs O’Neill, a native of Co. Tyrone, worked for the Church’s overseas aid agency for some 37 years in developing countries. Reacting to the news of her death along with three colleagues, Archbishop Eamon…
A call from Sinn Féin for a State takeover of Catholic schools would trample on the rights of parents, theologian Dr John Murray has warned. Speaking in the Seanad last week, the party’s education spokesman Paul Gavan said “we must work towards ending the patronage system completely”. It is the patronage system that underpins the…
The Orange Order must drop its “out-of-date”, sectarian regulations and embrace more tolerant attitudes towards Catholics, a prominent Protestant minister has urged. Dr Ken Newell, a former Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, said there are “lingering elements” of sectarianism in the loyalist organisation, and that the Irish lodge should be more tolerant of…
Archbishop Wilton Gregory, set to become the new head of the Archdiocese of Washington, promised to serve with truth, love and tenderness in a region where he acknowledged “unrest and anger”, after the downfall of former Washington Cardinal Theodore McCarrick and the Church’s current sex abuse scandal. “I want to offer you hope. I will…
Chai Brady
Colm Fitzpatrick