Young couples hoping to tie the knot may get some reprieve from wedding costs as parish halls are encouraged to open for evening receptions. It comes as new research suggests that some couples are just too poor to get married. Bishop Denis Nulty – head of the Church’s marriage agency Accord – told The Irish…
The Irish doctor on the Lourdes International Medical Committee has said it was “truly amazing” to be present when the shrine’s 70th formally-recognised miraculous cure was announced. Sr Bernadette Moriau of the Franciscan Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus began suffering from sciatic nerve pain in 1966 at the age of 27, and over…
Over one million Trócaire boxes will be delivered to homes and schools across Ireland this week in order to raise funds for vulnerable people globally. The charity’s Lenten campaign is Ireland’s largest fundraiser and saw €8.5m donated last year. This year’s campaign focuses upon the Koroma family in Freetown, Sierra Leone, who were affected by…
Despite a Supreme Court ruling that the ban on asylum seekers working is unconstitutional, Bishop Kevin Doran has warned that the Government’s minimalist approach to the ruling will mean very few people in direct provision will benefit. Bishop Kevin Doran welcomed the court’s decision, but said it was “disappointing” that the Government’s interim arrangement puts…
Many Catholics feel they have to keep their heads down because their faith attracts criticism from the dominant culture, the Papal Nuncio has warned. Archbishop Jude Okolo told a gathering in Galway in the weekend that it was also disappointing that the media tends to focus on negativity – particularly when it comes to reporting…
Ireland’s rising rents are “like a fever”, Focus Ireland has said, calling for the Government to implement rules effectively. Commenting on a DAFT report revealing average national rents to be €1,227 per month, with rents on the rise nationwide, Focus Ireland Advocacy Director Mike Allen said Ireland’s housing system is “truly dysfunctional”. “These massive rent…
Few people have considered how communities and nations actually tolerate and encourage human trafficking, particularly as it relates to prostitution, Pope Francis has said. Modern forms of slavery “are far more widespread than previously imagined, even within the most prosperous of our societies”, the Pontiff said during a meeting with an international group of law…
Fr Dermot Meehan has been elected Diocesan Administrator of the Diocese of Achonry, following last Sunday’s installation of Bishop Brendan Kelly as the new Bishop of Galway, Kilfenora and Kilmacduagh. Fr Meehan, who will continue in his ministry as parish Priest of Swinford, Co. Mayo, will now be responsible for the day-to-day running of the diocese and will represent it at plenary meetings of the Irish Episcopal Conference in Maynooth. The Diocese of Achonry, which includes parts of counties Mayo, Roscommon, and Sligo, has a Catholic population of 34,826 and 30 active priests, consists of 23 parishes and 48 churches
Doctors’ attitudes to the debate around the Eighth Amendment are unclear, with socially conservative doctors being unlikely to be outspoken on the issue, a leading member of the Irish Medical Council has said. “It is very difficult to know where GPs stand on the ‘Repeal the Eighth’ debate,” Drogheda-based GP Dr Ruairi Hanley told The…
A Co. Down folk group has topped the USA Christian album charts with the equivalent of 9,000 album sales. Rend Collective, a Bangor-based Christian band who met through a Bible group formed by the band’s drummer, are planning a US tour after topping Billboard’s Christian album charts for their third time with Good News. Seven…
Chai Brady
Greg Daly
Colm Fitzpatrick