The acidification of oceans will have drastic environmental consequences, speakers told a UN conference last week. Over 3,500 people representing countries, UN agencies and non-governmental organisations attended the conference on sustainable development. Cardinal Peter Turkson from Ghana said that effective regulations to safeguard the world’s oceans are being blocked by “those who are profiting most…
The Knights of St Columbanus have received a first-class relic of St Teresa of Calcutta from the Postulation Office (c/o The Mother Teresa Centre of the Missionaries of Charity) and arranged a national itinerary across the island of Ireland to facilitate its veneration by the public. The relic began its journey this week in Belfast,…
The new Bishop of Raphoe has been described as a man of “dynamic service”. The Vatican announced on Friday that Pope Francis has appointed Fr Alan McGuckian SJ to succeed Bishop Philip Byoce OCD in Raphoe. He will be the first Jesuit bishop in Ireland in over 200 years. “Fr McGuckian’s background in education and…
After 65 years, St Martin Apostolate has announced the launch of the digital version of the St Martin Magazine – the publication of this digital version was launched in conjunction with Magzster.com. www.stmartin.ie/subscriptions Since 1952, St Martin Apostolate, as well as being home to the Moving Crib, has published the monthly St Martin Magazine. The…
Dublin’s Christchurch Cathedral is set to host 180 choristers from across the USA next month at a concert in aid of the Irish Hospice Foundation. The second Dublin Choral Festival, to be held in the cathedral at 8pm on July 8, will see the American choristers from states as far apart as New Mexico and…
The Church needs to combat homelessness by lobbying politicians and Government according to a well-known activist. Fr Peter McVerry said that the homeless crisis in Ireland is a political problem, and no matter how many Catholic charities such as Focus Ireland, Crosscare and the Peter McVerry Trust get involved the fundamental issues won’t be solved.…
Theresa May’s plan to govern with support from the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) may jeopardise a proposed visit by Pope Francis to the North, according to diplomatic sources in Rome. According to Vatican diplomatic sources quoted in the respected Italian daily La Stampa, “cooler heads in the [Vatican] Secretariat of State may be saying this…
Parents have expressed their outrage at the ‘Repeal the Eighth’ movement after campaigners handed out leaflets to children at the gates of a Dublin school. Members of the ‘Dublin North West Repeal the Eighth’ group, a collection of pro-choice residents of Dublin 9 and 11 who say they are “committed to campaigning across our constituency…
Medical experts have poured cold water on reports of a vision of the Virgin Mary at Knock shrine at the weekend, advising that staring at the sun can cause blurred vision. The Association of Optometrists Ireland warned of the “very high risk of a retinal burn” after a video was posted on the internet of…
The Pope has ordered priests in Nigeria to accept the appointment of a new bishop or they will be suspended. Pope Francis has given priests 30 days to send letters promising obedience to him. Anyone who doesn’t will lose their current office. Bishop Peter Ebere Okpaleke was appointed Bishop of Ahiara by then-Pope Benedict XVI…
Colm Fitzpatrick
Chai Brady
Mags Gargan