Staff Reporter Through a warm burst of applause the congregation at the annual Clonard novena have tasked the papal nuncio with passing on an invitation for Pope Francis to visit the Belfast monastery during his expected trip to Ireland in 2018. The Pope’s representative to Ireland, Archbishop Charles Brown, celebrated the youth session at Clonard novena…

The chaplain to the Irish community in Paris has heaped praise on fans who travelled to France to support the boys in green at the Euros, saying they managed to “melt the hearts” of the French. Fr Dwayne Gavin told The Irish Catholic that the atmosphere in Paris was “electric” ahead of Ireland’s recent clash…

NGOs supporting refugees and asylum seekers have strongly rejected Government claims that “significant progress” has been made in implementing recommendations for reform of the direct provision system.   Last week the Department of Justice and Equality issued a progress update on the Report of the Working Group on Improvements to the Protection Process, which claimed…

Staff reporter Keith Duffy assured his mother that he would hand deliver her petitions to the grotto at Lourdes before embarking on a mammoth 550km cycle to the Marian shrine in the south of France. The former Boyzone singer joined a group cycling from Limerick to Lourdes in Nantes to raise money for Cliona’s Foundation, a…

Mariapolis is the Focolare summer gathering under the theme ‘Mercy Matters’ where people of all ages, backgrounds and faiths meet to take timeout together. It is like a retreat but it is lived together each day with talks, workshops, outings and fun, moments of reflection and discussion. This year’s gathering is on July 6–10 in…

The proposed Citizens’ Assembly on abortion is a “pretend process with a prearranged outcome”, the Pro Life Campaign (PLC) has said. Responding to the announcement that the assembly shall be set up soon, PLC spokesperson Cora Sherlock said “no amount of spin from Government ministers can disguise the fact that the process is about anything…

St Fachtna’s De La Salle secondary school in Skibbereen, west Cork recently closed its doors for the last time. De La Salle Brothers lived and taught in Skibbereen from 1937 until they left in 2001. A plaque was unveiled on its main street by the president of its past pupils union and a special Mass…

Amnesty Ireland’s push for abortion in Ireland does not reflect the organisation’s historic values and is hurting its traditional role, according to members of the Kells Amnesty International Group. The group, which was founded in 1986, is to disband today (Thursday) in protest against Amnesty Ireland’s continued campaigning on the abortion issue. “It seems that…