Francis answers questions from children around the world “What did God do before the world was made?” is one of 30 questions from children around the world the Pope tackles in a book to be published on March 1. Dear Pope Francis, published by Loyola Press, and illustrated with drawings by children aged 6-13, was first proposed to the Pontiff by Fr…
McArthurs prepare for appeal hearing A Belfast couple prosecuted for refusing to bake a cake promoting same-sex marriage have said the controversy has strengthened their faith in God and their married life. Daniel and Amy McArthur, who run Ashers Bakery, were speaking this week as they prepared to mount an appeal against an earlier court…
Sir Terry Wogan spent his final hours surrounded by his family who held prayers before his death, it has been reported. Paying tribute to the broadcasting legend, Fr Brian D’Arcy told The Irish Catholic that Terry was a “wonderful” man. Acknowledging that the broadcaster was a self-described atheist, Fr D’Arcy insisted that “God knew him…
Irish folk singer Dolores Keane has spoken of how her Catholic faith helped her in her fight against alcohol addiction. In an interview on the Meaning of Life with Gay Byrne, the singer explained that prayer had played a big part in her life growing up, but she then lost her faith until she sought…
Catholic schools should not be governed by league tables or results, but by mercy and inclusion, according to the head of the Catholic primary schools body. Fr Tom Deenihan, General Secretary of the Catholic Primary Schools Management Association (CPSMA), said the danger of focusing on league tables is that “we would value the educationally gifted…
Congratulations to Kathleen Magennis from Dublin, who won our Christmas crossword competition. The first prize is a fully inclusive pilgrimage for two to Lourdes in 2016 with Pilgrimages Abroad. The three runners-up who will receive a copy of The Francis Effect DVD are: Mrs P. Gray, Dublin 9; Kathleen Murray, Co. Cork; Margaret McNulty, Limerick.…
Bishop Brendan Leahy has said it would be “great” for Christian unity if Churches could agree on a common date for Easter. The Bishop of Limerick told The Irish Catholic it would be a “truly great thing to have a common date for Easter”. Noting that Pope Francis had suggested recently that he would like…
Five different schools from the Laois/Carlow/Kildare area were represented at the Eucharistic Ministers Commissioning Mass celebrated by Fr John Dunphy in the parish of Graiguecullen/Killeshin, Co. Laois recently. The group of 20 young adults were commissioned after a five-week training course. During their training they explored the origins of the Mass and the true meaning…
The Eucharist demands our commitment to a just world and calls for a global war on poverty, the Pope’s personal envoy to the International Eucharistic Congress has said. Preaching at the opening Mass of the congress in the Philippine city of Cebu, Cardinal Charles Maung Bo said “in an unequal and uncaring world, the Eucharist…
A well-known priest has accused the Irish hierarchy of lacking the “dynamism” that is needed to renew the Church here. Fr Paddy Byrne told The Irish Catholic that the bishops “have to account for their own dynamism and if they are going to question it at a parish level they must question it among themselves”.…
Greg Daly
Cathal Barry
Mags Gargan