Pope Francis has apologised for underestimating the seriousness of the sexual abuse crisis in Chile following a recent investigation into allegations concerning Osorno’s Bishop Juan Barros. In a letter to the country’s bishops, the Pope said he made “serious mistakes in the assessment and perception of the situation, especially due to a lack of truthful…
Pope Francis has issued a rallying cry to Catholics urging them to not allow a rigid adherence to rules to turn the Church into a museum. In a landmark new document on the call to holiness for all believers Rejoice and be Glad, Pope Francis also insisted that priests much become “passionate missionaries” rather than…
State takeover would make NAMA ‘look like a garden party’ Proposals to introduce a new national sex education curriculum without a religious influence could be open to a constitutional challenge, a leading academic has said. “The State can impose certain things on schools, including such things as a certain minimum level of education,” UCC’s…
Any remaining properties promised by religious orders under the redress scheme for victims of abuse should be handed over to the State in advance of the Pope’s visit this August, members of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) have said. This comes after a report by the Dáil committee criticising the Department of Education’s approach to…
A conference later this month addressed by a former Vatican ambassador and an acclaimed biographer of Pope Francis will hear calls for Irish Catholics to stand up for their Faith. Entitled ‘How to Defend the Faith Without Raising Your Voice’, the conference which will be held in the Red Cow Hotel on Saturday, April 28,…
It is vital to support the farming community if Ireland wants to keep people on the land, Bishop John Buckley of Cork and Ross has said. Speaking to The Irish Catholic after an appeal for all Masses in the diocese to include prayers for the farming community, Bishop Buckley said parishes had responded well to…
Religious representatives of the Irish Catholic and Anglican communities have thanked God for the political peace that has been achieved in Ireland in the last 20 years and have urged people to continue to be “ambassadors of reconciliation”. Archbishop Eamon Martin and the Church of Ireland’s Archbishop Richard Clarke released the joint statement on April…
Concerns have been raised after a social media post critical of a pro-life statement from a bishop emerged apparently from a senior executive at the ad agency running the information campaign on behalf of the Referendum Commission. The Referendum Commission has charged BBDO Dublin with promoting voter turnout and to explain the referendum proposal in…
The contribution of Fr Alec Reid and others to the Peace Process needs to be recognised, Mattie McGrath TD has said. Speaking at the General Liam Lynch Memorial in Newcastle, Co. Tipperary, the independent TD urged the Government and Fianna Fáil to highlight those who seem excluded from current political debates around the Good Friday…
The Mexican bishops’ conference criticised US President Donald Trump’s plan to deploy National Guard troops to the US-Mexico border and issued a strong defence of migrants, saying the Catholic Church could not stand by “in the face of suffering by our brother migrants as they seek better conditions”. The letter, addressed to people in Mexico,…
Greg Daly
Colm Fitzpatrick
Chai Brady