Three men have been arrested in relation to a sectarian mob attack on the homes of Coptic Christians in the Egyptian province of Minya. The arrests bring to 14 the number of people arrested since the May 20 attack, in which the most serious incident involved an elderly Coptic woman being stripped naked, abused and…
Category: News
Knock’s youngest visionary to be reburied in New York cathedral
The remains of John Curry, youngest witness of the apparition at Knock, buried since 1943 in an unmarked grave on New York’s Long Island, are to be exhumed and buried in the cemetery of Manhattan’s St Patrick’s Old Cathedral. Plans for the reinterment, scheduled for next spring, had their seeds in a lunchtime conversation between…
Pope’s exhortation an Irish bestseller
Pope Francis’ most recent document on love in the family has become a non-fiction Irish bestseller. Amoris Laetitia (The Joy of Love) is the 2016 exhortation which brings together the results of the two synods on the family convoked by the Pope in 2014 and 2015. Catholic publisher Veritas confirmed to The Irish Catholic that…
Vatican Roundup
PWC asked to retain a role in Vatican audit After suspending an external audit led by a leading international firm, the Vatican has signed a new contract asking only that it provide assistance and consulting services. The suspension in April of the external audit by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) “was not due to considerations regarding the integrity or the quality of PwC’s work, nor is…
Bogus Mass cards will finally be banned
The section of the Charities Act which protects against the sale of bogus Mass cards can now be enforced following the withdrawal of an appeal to the Supreme Court by a Mass card trader. The Irish Catholic first raised concerns about so-called trafficking in Masses in 2008 when it emerged that many pre-signed Mass cards…
Irish public raises €25m for Trócaire
The Bishops’ Conference has praised the work of parishes in raising €25million for Trócaire, their overseas development agency. From April 2015 to April 2016, the Irish public donated €25 million to the charity, which is a 7% increase over the previous 12 month period. Eamonn Meehan, Executive Director of Trócaire, told The Irish Catholic that…
The hope for Orthodox unity is facing a setback
On June 19, Christian history is supposed to be made on the island of Crete when the leaders of all the world’s independent Orthodox Churches are to begin meeting in a ‘Holy and Great Council’ for the first time in a millennium. “Supposed to” being the key phrase, in light of the latest hints of…
Historic meeting in Roscrea
Irishman Dom Eamon Fitzgerald, Abbot General of the Cistercian Order (right) pictured with Dom Richard Purcell, Abbot of Mount St Joseph Abbey during a meeting of the Central Commission of the Cistercian Order at the monastery in Roscrea. The meeting, the first of its kind to be held in Ireland, is taking place from June…
Down & Connor welcomes new priest
Fr James O’Reilly, from Poleglass, pictured with members of his family and Bishop Noel Treanor of Down & Connor following his ordination to the priesthood in Christ the Redeemer Church, Lagmore, Belfast on Sunday.
Saving Kenya from itself
Faith leaders work to unite a divided nation, writes Paul Keenan