Families of the Ballymurphy Massacre are reliving the “harrowing” details of the killing of their loved ones as the inquest into their deaths continues, according to the parish priest of Ballymurphy. Fr Patrick McCafferty said that revisiting the tragedy for the victims’ families is “as raw today as it was almost 50 years ago”. This…
Aggressive nationalism is to blame for a rise in violence and other intimidation against religious minorities – and the West is failing to convert words of concern into action, according to a report by the charity Aid to the Church in Need. Assessing all 196 countries around the globe, the Religious Freedom in the World…
Priests located near ports play a “vital role” in combatting and identifying human trafficking and modern day slavery at sea, according to the Bishop of Ferns. Speaking to The Irish Catholic, Bishop Denis Brennan said that locally there is an effort made to encourage priests to mention human trafficking in their homilies, on local radio…
The International Union of Superiors General has called on women religious who have suffered abuse to come forward and report it to their congregations and Church and state authorities. “If the UISG receives a report of abuse, we will be a listening presence and help the person to have the courage to bring the complaint…
A Kenyan priest serving in Cameroon has been shot and killed by soldiers. Fr Cosmas Omboto Ondari was shot dead in Manyu, Cameroon, just days after the murder of another Kenyan priest, Jesuit Fr Victor-Luke Odhiambo, in South Sudan. According to the St Joseph Missionary Society Mill Hill Missionary’s Formation Centre in Cameroon, Fr Ondari,…
The diocese of Ossory is determined to move forward with plans to identify, recruit and train lay people to help run the diocese and local parishes according to the Coordinator of the Diocesan Pastoral Plan. After a conference of clergy and laity over the weekend Gemma Mulligan said there was a “really positive feeling that…
An effort by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras of Greece to start severing ties between the state and the Greek Orthodox Church, including taking priests off civil service payrolls, has opened up divisions within the church which has played a dominant role in the country’s life for centuries. Mr Tsipras and the head of the Orthodox…
Almost 370 nurses and midwives have signed a petition calling on Health Minister Simon Harris to consult with them regarding amendments they are calling for to abortion legislation. Nurses&Midwives4Life Ireland have expressed concerns that their right to conscientious objection will not be respected under the current legislation. The group said that the participation in termination…
Ireland’s largest women’s retreat this year was a “tremendous success”, according to organisers delighted by the presence of 250 women from Ireland and across Europe. Tipperary’s Emma Sisk, ground coordinator in Ireland for the US-based Blessed is She ministry, said the retreat at the Emmaus Centre in Swords, Co. Dublin, had exceeded expectations. “It was…
While parishes might bemoan the fact that some Massgoers pass the collection basket on rather than reaching into their pocket, a church in the Netherlands has come up with a novel way to exist in an increasingly cashless society. Parishioners in Utrecht can now tap their donation at a contactless payment terminal at the local…
Chai Brady
Greg Daly