The membership of the International Astronomical Union has voted to recommend that the name of a Belgian Catholic priest be added to the astronomical law explaining the expansion of the universe, or ‘Big Bang’. Using an electronic voting system, the IAU passed a resolution to recommend renaming the ‘Hubble law’ as the Hubble-Lemaître Law. The law…
A new pastoral centre was opened on October 28 at the Church of the Guardian Angels in Newtownpark in Dublin by Archbishop Diarmuid Martin. The centre already has 150 volunteers who will help with the running of activities for everyone, ranging from toddlers to senior citizens. Alongside programmes like ballet lessons, parish priest Fr Dermot…
The Irish Catholic readers have added their voice to a debate about whether the Angelus should stop being broadcast on Irish television. In an online poll, which racked up almost 1,500 votes, 94% of voters said the Angelus should continue to be broadcast on RTÉ, while only 6% said it should be stopped. The poll…
Asia Bibi, the Catholic woman condemned to death under Pakistan’s blasphemy laws in 2010, has had her conviction overturned by the Supreme Court in Pakistan. She was told by the judge she was free to go immediately. The court, in a three-member bench led by Chief Justice Saqib Nisar, released the verdict this morning in Islamabad,…
Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò said he is convinced he was right to accuse Pope Francis and Church officials of failing to act on accusations that then-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick engaged in sexual misconduct and sexual harassment. Archbishop Viganò, the former nuncio to the US, said an open letter released on October 7 by Cardinal Marc Ouellet…
The US ‘March for Life’ plans to fortify its pro-life message next year by pointing out that science proves life begins at conception with a specific focus on stem-cell research. ‘Unique From Day One: Pro-Life Is Pro-Science’ is the theme announced by Jeanne Mancini, president of the March for Life Education and Defence Fund. The…
The Museum of the Bible has announced that five of its most prized artefacts – valuable fragments in its collection of Dead Sea Scrolls – are forgeries that will no longer be displayed at the museum in Washington DC. Researchers in Germany tested five of the museum’s 16 fragments, bought by the billionaire businessman and museum…
Barcelona’s iconic Sagrada Família basilica has agreed to pay €36 million in back payments after going without a building permit for more than 130 years. The church, designed by architect Antoni Gaudí, has been under construction since 1882, but without any official permit. Until now, the building has only been marked on property registries as…
Hypocrisy is the leaven that causes men and women to be self-centred and indifferent to the world around them, according to the Pope. “This leaven is dangerous,” the Pope said in his homily during Mass in the Domus Sanctae Marthae. “It is a leaven that grows inward, a leaven that grows without a future because…
The diaconate in Ireland could help encourage vocations to the priesthood, a newly-ordained deacon has said. Prominent lawyer Brett Lockhart QC, who with eight other men was ordained a deacon earlier this month in Belfast’s St Peter’s Cathedral told The Irish Catholic that as the diaconate flourishes in Ireland, there will be a “better environment…
Colm Fitzpatrick