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…
An independent investigation into the much-discussed encounter that went viral between Catholic high school students, a Native American tribal leader and members of another protest group on the Lincoln Memorial grounds in Washington in January found no evidence that the students of Kentucky’s Covington Catholic High School issued “offensive or racist statements”. A report on…
Following deadly protests against Haiti’s president and the drowning deaths of at least 28 people in an illegal crossing to the Bahamas, the country’s Catholic bishops have said all Haitians must come together for a wise solution to the country’s dangers. “We must wake up to take together the full measure of the danger that…
Make human beings a primary concern, urges Vatican official Left unchecked, unbridled greed and a thirst for profit leads down a slippery slope that endangers the earth and all who live on it, especially indigenous populations, a Vatican official said. Msgr Fernando Chica Arellano, the Vatican’s permanent observer to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, and the…
Twisted ideas of power and authority in the Catholic Church have contributed to the clerical sexual abuse crisis, leaders of religious orders said, but sometimes the positive “sense of family” in their own communities also made them slow to act. “Pope Francis rightly attacks the culture of clericalism which has hindered our fight against abuse…
Chai Brady
Greg Daly