In late February, Pope Leo XIV thanked Fr Bruno Kant of the Diocese of Fulda in Germany for his “many years of faithful and devoted priestly service.” Kant, the oldest priest in the world at 110 years of age, passed away on the night of Friday, May 29. He had been a priest since 1950.…
Category: News
Pope pushes pro-life message in speech to Spanish lawmakers
Pope Leo XIV delivered a comprehensive pro-life message on Monday in an address to members of the Spanish parliament, urging lawmakers to defend the unborn and the migrant and to opt for peace over war through dialogue free of inflammatory rhetoric. Speaking at the Congress of Deputies – Spain’s lower legislative house – on June…
Ireland must respect Catholic schools, UN told
The Irish State needs to be “honest” and have “coherence” if it is to sustain a genuinely pluralist school system. It also needs to “stop narrowing rights while speaking the language of inclusion”, the Catholic Education Partnership (CEP) has told the United Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in a lengthy submission to its Universal Periodic Review…
Human dignity ‘non-negotiable’, bishops say in response to encyclical on Artificial Intelligence
Human dignity is “non-negotiable”, Bishop Niall Coll has said in response to the new papal encyclical on Artificial Intelligence. The document, titled Magnifica Humanitas, warns that technology must always be at the service of people, rather than the other way around. Writing for The Irish News on June 1, the Raphoe bishop suggested that the…
Former Boyzone star says Rosary helped him through ‘dark and difficult’ time
Pop star Keith Duffy has said his faith helped him through the “dark and difficult” period following the death of his Boyzone bandmate Stephen Gately. Speaking to the Sunday Independent, the singer said he suffered “horrendous” nightmares after Gately’s death in 2009 and would drink heavily because “when you pass out drunk you don’t dream”. Asked…
Appointment of junior minister attacked by Pro-Life Campaign
Taoiseach Micheal Martin has been criticised for appointing as a junior minister the only Fianna Fail TD who voted in favour of a recent bill from the Social Democrats that would have abolished the three-day waiting period before a woman can have an abortion. This was among other changes the bill would have introduced aimed…
Women’s ordination debate distracting from lay ministry, says Bishop McGuckian
Too much focus on who can and cannot be ordained as a priest risks distracting from Vatican II’s call to holiness and mission for all the baptised, the Bishop of Down and Connor, Dr Alan McGuckian has warned. He made the comment during a video conversation with theologian Dr Abigail Favale, after the question of women’s ordination…
Catholic education remains ‘vital’ to Church as Ballyshannon school marks 150th anniversary
Ballyshannon National School marked 150 years of education in the parish with a special Mass attended by pupils, staff, grandparents, and former students on a sunny day of celebration for the whole school community. Bishop Denis Nulty joined Fr Barry Larkin PP of Suncroft parish, Principal Lorraine McGovern, teachers, families, and past pupils for the…
Racism the new sectarianism, Lough Derg gathering hears
The traditional Three Day Pilgrimage season at Lough Derg opened last week, following an ecumenical gathering on Station Island which brought together nearly 100 people from different Christian traditions. The annual Day of Friendship and Prayer took place on May 20, ahead of the pilgrimage season, with the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh, John…
One in four young people will never have children, new report forecasts
One in four young people look set never to have children, a new paper from the Iona Institute forecasts. The paper is called ‘Choice or Circumstance? Rising Childlessness in Ireland’. This would be the highest percentage of childless people ever recorded in Ireland and coincides with both the marriage rate and the birth rate for…