A programme called ‘The Family Tree’ has been launched in conjunction with Catholic Schools Week, and aims to encourage participants to learn more about family and its importance. Developed by the Society of African Missions (SMA) the four-week programme emphasises that although families are unique, they all have the same roots and branches. Using the…
The annual Divine Mercy Conference – which regularly attracts thousands of people to Dublin’s RDS – is to step it up a gear this year with the addition of a special programme aimed at attracting younger Catholics. Hosted in St Paul’s Church, Arran Quay, Dublin, on Friday February 16, the event aims to highlight the…
Faith plays a role in encouraging positive interactions between students online, as bullying moves from schoolyards to social media, according to the secretary for the Episcopal Council for Education. At the launch of Catholic Schools Week in the Killaloe Diocese it was highlighted that this year there will be a year-long catechetical programme working in…
Pope Francis emphasised that remembering the Holocaust helps us overcome “so many deplorable forms of apathy towards our neighbour” in a speech at a conference in Rome. Addressing participants of the Rome International Conference on Responsibility of States Institutions and Individuals in the Fight against Anti-Semitism in the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe…
Every day in Ireland over 500,000 single use cups and 2.5 million bottles are disposed of through landfill and incineration. Eight million tonnes of plastic leaks into the ocean each year. The Waste Reduction bill, progressing through the Dáil, aims to ban plastic cutlery / plates and establish a deposit/refund scheme (DRS) for glass, plastic…
A US cardinal has called for prayers for the victims killed and injured in a pair of school shootings in Kentucky and Texas. After the second shooting in two days, Cardinal DiNardo, president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, said Christians experience the pain of the family and friends of the victims “as if…
The social action arm of the Catholic Church in the Philippines has appealed for donations for the relief and rehabilitation of families affected by the ongoing eruption of Mount Mayon in Albay province. Over 70,000 people have already been evacuated to temporary shelters as the volcano started spewing columns of ashes as high as ten kilometers this…
Teresa Devlin When a crisis occurs within families, parents tend to look to trusted advisors; the people who have given them good and sensible counsel in the past. An expanding contributory factor to the crises that can affect families is the internet. The import of this is that if the Catholic Church wishes to…
Charles Collins A Chinese cardinal is warning that an alleged Vatican request to underground bishops to resign in favour of bishops belonging to the state-run Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association would “be giving the blessing on the new strengthened schismatic Church”. Cardinal Joseph Zen, the 86-year-old retired Bishop of Hong Kong, wrote an open letter on…
Former Minister Lucinda Creighton has warned that pro-choice campaigners are trying to frame the debate around abortion to exclude talk about the unborn child who loses his or her life as a result of a termination. She also dismissed media claims that politicians who support abortion are ‘brave’ and criticised TDs and Senators who sacrifice…
Chai Brady
Susan Gately