Pope Francis has expressed his grief for the loss of life caused by the sinking of a ferry in the Tigris River near the Iraqi city of Mosul. In a telegramme signed on his behalf by Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Pope said he is deeply saddened to learn of the accident and expressed his prayerful…
Only faith can speak in the darkness of immense tragedy, Archbishop Eamon Martin has told the requiem Mass of Morgan Bernard this morning (Friday). Morgan (17), Lauren Bullock (17) and Connor Currie (16) died outside a St Patrick’s Day event at the Greenvale Hotel in Cookstown following a crush. The tragedy, Archbishop Eamon told mourners, remind us…
Jonathan Luxmoore A close aide to St John Paul II has vigorously defended the late Pope’s handling of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy and denied accusations that he ignored the problem during his 27-year pontificate. “Emerging opinions that John Paul II was sluggish in guiding the Church’s response to sexual abuse of minors by…
A pro-life group in Dublin’s Trinity College has criticised the visit of former Planned Parenthood Federation President, Cecile Richards, after she was invited to the university to receive an award for her pro-choice activism. Ms Richards was invited by the Philosophical Society to speak on campus and receive their Gold Medal of Honorary Patronage on…
Christians have faith in a God who wants to and is able to transform the world, conquering evil with good, Pope Francis said. That is why “it makes sense to obey and abandon oneself” to God and his will, even during life’s most difficult moments, the Pope said yesterday during his general audience in St…
Under new plans being considered, men training to be priests would spend most of their time working in parishes rather than in the traditional seminary environment. It would see seminarians living in parishes with more time involved in active pastoral work alongside priests and lay pastoral workers and would, according to one bishop, give them…
The bishop of Elphin has criticised those who identify as “Faith-filled” while spreading fear and mistrust of migrants and refugees, particularly those who are Muslims. Bishop Kevin Doran told this paper he has witnessed prejudice in Irish society and that there’s an “implication” that because people are Muslim they are more likely to be terrorists.…
Church agencies have rallied together to help more than half-a-million people in dire need after a cyclone hit Southern Africa last week. It’s estimated that at least 1,000 people have died in Cyclone Idai which hit Mozambique on March 15, making landfall near the port city of Beira on Thursday with winds of up to…
A call from European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker for the EU to rediscover its Catholic roots is an invitation for politicians to bring Catholic values to bear in their work, Bishop Noel Treanor of Down and Connor has said. Addressing the spring assembly of COMECE – the European bishops’ conference – Mr Juncker spoke effusively…
Hundreds of Irish GPs have submitted a third petition to their representative body calling for a vote on abortion and freedom of conscience. Approximately 600 GPs hand-signed the petition calling for the Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP) to hold an extraordinary general meeting (EGM). Dr Orla Halpenny from Doctors for Life said that “members…
Greg Daly
Chai Brady