Derry announces clerical changes A Derry-based priest who was previously cleared of an indecent assault charge in the criminal courts is to retire to restricted ministry after accepting the outcome of a Canon Law trial, the diocese has said. Bishop Donal McKeown announced this week that Fr Eugene Boland, who previously stepped aside in 2014, “has accepted the…
There are many saints who demonstrate that even if one comes from a difficult childhood, or does not have good parents, hope can still be found in Christ and the mission received from him, Pope Francis said today. The commandment to honour father and mother “can be constructive for many young people who come from…
Bishop of Derry Donal McKeown has expressed his hope that next month’s international summit of bishops on the challenges facing young people can breathe fresh life into the Church’s youth ministry in Ireland. Dr McKeown, who along with Archbishop of Armagh Eamon Martin will represent Ireland at the month-long Vatican event, told The Irish Catholic…
EXCLUSIVE Just five first-year seminarians entered Maynooth to begin studies for the priesthood this year, The Irish Catholic can reveal – one fewer than last year which was considered the lowest in the college’s 223-year history. While returns from all of the country’s dioceses compiled by this newspaper show that 15 men have formally…
The first Irish diocese to be subject to a second review of safeguarding practice has been praised for its handling of abuse allegations and treatment of those making complaints and being complained about. The review of the Diocese of Kilmore, conducted by the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland during…
Doctors’ right to conscientious objection will become a “flashpoint” in efforts to protect the lives of unborn children against the background of looming abortion legislation, pro-life GPs have said. “We may have lost the battle on the Eighth but the new battle is to protect freedom of conscience,” Dr Valerie Morris told The Irish Catholic,…
A priest who worked in inter-face communities in Belfast has said it is vital that Stormont is re-established to give people hope about their future. Fr Gary Donegan CP, nationally renowned for his ongoing commitment to conflict resolution and peace building in the North of Ireland, said there is “frustration” among communities of different faith…
The Church needs bishops who promote unity, “not soloists singing their own tune or captains fighting personal battles”, Pope Francis told new bishops from the Church’s mission territories. “And, dear brothers, flee from clericalism, an anomalous way of understanding the Church’s authority, one common in many communities where sexual abuse and the abuse of power…
Presidential-hopeful Joan Freeman has credited the intercession of Our Lady at Knock for healing her of a skin condition when she was a teenager. The Independent Senator who is running for the presidency said that her Faith was “absolutely responsible” for curing her of eczema on a visit to Knock Shrine when she was younger.…
The last Irish Magdalene Laundry owned by the State should be converted into a museum to commemorate the women and children who suffered there, a leading Irish academic has said. Dr Gillian O’Brien, Reader in Modern Irish History at Liverpool’s John Moore’s University, said that women have been second class citizens for “a very long…
Chai Brady
Colm Fitzpatrick
Greg Daly