The Vatican has released an online questionnaire for young people in preparation for the Synod of Bishops on youth in 2018. The survey aims to better understand the lives, attitudes and concerns of young men and women aged 16-29 around the world. The answers to the questionnaire will provide the basis for a working document…
Tyrone football manager Mickey Harte has said that despite the impression given by the media, he believes that most Irish people “still hold life very precious and very dear”. Speaking to The Irish Catholic in advance of addressing the annual Ceiliuradh Cois Life dinner for pro-life education last Friday, he said that while the media…
Some of the around 2,600 young people who enjoyed the annual Fan the Flame Mass for all the children who have received the Sacrament of Confirmation in the Diocese of Derry during the past year, which was celebrated in Celtic Park last week. Photo: Stephen Latimer
Tributes have poured in for the late Limerick priest, Fr Jack Finucane, who passed away last week at the age of 80. Alongside his elder brother and fellow priest Aengus, Fr Jack was instrumental in humanitarian relief efforts such as providing thousands of tons of food during the Nigerian famine in Biafra during the 1960s.…
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…
Parishes that don’t employ a youth minister reap the benefits of other parishes’ investments according to a Galway priest. Fr Brendan Kilcoyne spoke at a conference last week designed to showcase youth ministry options for parishes in Ireland. He urged young people to engage in youth ministry, saying it is “urgent” and “profoundly meaningful” as…
There is still work to be done to help the victims of clerical abuse find healing a US report has found. The 14th annual report on diocesan compliance with the US Catholic Church’s “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People” shows that Church leaders have taken steps to help many find solace and…
Mags Gargan
Colm Fitzpatrick