An Irish publican organisation said a State agency has “lost perspective” after it said it was illegal for groups of pubs to close on Good Friday. Donall O’Keeffe of the Licensed Vintners Association (LVA) told The Irish Catholic that it was a matter for each individual pub to decide their opening hours, after the Competition…
The Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin has encouraged abuse survivors to come forward after confirming the late Fr Malachy Finegan ministered in the diocese for three years. Bishop Denis Nulty said in his St Patrick’s Day homily that his concern “is that someone may be suffering in silence” after acknowledging the notorious child abuser Fr…
The number of homeless people availing of Focus Ireland’s Advice and Info service in Dublin has tripled in the first two months of this year compared to 2017, with one service user saying it has given him hope. In January and February 2018 the service supported 266 people compared to 86 in the same timeframe…
A bill on social media transparency, currently at committee stage, should become law before the Referendum on the Eighth Amendment, according to its sponsor, Fianna Fáil’s James Lawless, TD. “On social media at the moment anyone can do anything they want,” the Kildare North TD told The Irish Catholic. “It is positive that people can…
A new booklet mapping out the basics of Catholic social teaching is intended to introduce older teenagers to the Church’s tradition of thought around major questions questions facing the world in our time, Down and Connor’s Bishop Noel Treanor has said. ‘Wellspring of Your Future: The Social Teaching of the Church’ has been distributed as…
A Vatican tribunal has found Archbishop Anthony Apuron of Agana, Guam, guilty of some of the accusations made against him including the sexual abuse of minors. After a canonical trial conducted by the Apostolic Tribunal of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Vatican judges imposed the following sanctions on the 72-year-old archbishop: the…
Prostitution is a form of “torturing women” Pope Francis told a group of young people at a pre-synod in Rome this week. Responding to a young Nigerian victim of human trafficking, who was forced to become a victim of prostitution to pay supposed debts, Pope Francis said sex-buyers are “criminals”. “If a young person has…
An Irish-born cardinal, who resigned five years ago as archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh after admitting to sexual misconduct, died on March 19 at the age of 80. Born at Ballycastle in Co. Antrim, Cardinal Keith O’Brien stepped down as archbishop in February 2013, following allegations from three priests and one former priest that…
Thousands of people defied arctic temperatures on Sunday to pray the rosary at Mass rocks for ‘Life and Faith’, organisers have said. “On the east coast, the crowds were decimated,” Kathy Sinnott told The Irish Catholic, adding that most gatherings went ahead elsewhere. In Dublin, a small number gathered at the Papal cross, while others…
The president of the Philippines has announced his country’s immediate withdrawal from the International Criminal Court (ICC) following “outrageous attacks” by the court and UN officials. President Rodrigo Duterte, who is under scrutiny by the international court over his deadly war on drugs, claimed that there is a “concerted effort” to undermine his administration. He accused UN special…
Chai Brady
Susan Gately
Greg Daly