Missionaries are entrusted with building bridges with Muslims and protecting human rights, Pope Francis told a group of missionaries this week in the Vatican. In a meeting with the Consolata Missionaries, he said they are also charged with bringing hope to poor Christian communities. Pope Francis encouraged them to push beyond the boundaries of their…
A Rome-based moral theologian has said the Vatican has an obligation to block plans by the Sisters of Charity to facilitate the building of a new National Maternity Hospital where it is expected that abortions will take place. Fr Kevin O’Reilly OP, who lectures in Rome’s Pontifical University of St Thomas Aquinas, better known as…
An archbishop in New Mexico has received several unhappy responses after he made a statement denouncing US immigration policy. Archbishop John Wester said that since then people have wrote to him saying they were “dismayed” at his lack of respect for immigration laws. He added that sometimes people say, “what don’t you understand about illegal?”…
Retired Derry priest Fr Harry Coyle (77) was awarded an honorary doctorate by Ulster University in recognition of his lifetime of achievements in Irish language teaching and scholarship. Pictured with Fr Coyle are Prof. Paddy Nixon and Dr Malachy O’Neill, Ulster University. Photo: Nigel McDowell/Ulster University
Bishops around the world have labelled President Donald Trump’s decision to leave the Paris Climate Agreement last week “a major challenge” and “deeply troubling”. German Cardinal Reinhard Marx said that the decision “erodes the global trust” achieved after the agreement was made. He added it was regrettable the Pope’s advice did not seem to influence…
Record numbers of pilgrims visited St Patrick’s Purgatory in Lough Derg for the opening weekend of the island shrine’s 2017 Three-Day Pilgrimage season. With numbers up 10% on last year’s opening weekend, Fr Owen McEneaney, Prior of Lough Derg, told The Irish Catholic that it was even more heartening to compare today’s numbers – which…
Catholics across the world have expressed their grief in the wake of the London Bridge terror attack which saw the death of seven people. US Catholics joined the Pope in expressing sorrow for those killed and severely injured in the latest terrorist attacks in London the night of June 3. “The vigil of Pentecost had…
The World Meeting of Families (WMOF) should leave behind a legacy of helping families caught in the “disgraceful” homeless crisis in Ireland, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin has said. Speaking at a conference on the WMOF, Dr Martin said there should not only be a spiritual legacy from the event, but also a focus on “what we…
Pope Francis’ prayer intention for June is for the elimination of the arms trade. His intentions were made in a video message released on the Vatican’s Youtube channel at the beginning of this month. “It is an absurd contradiction to speak of peace, to negotiate peace, and at the same time, promote or permit the…
Debate about the role of religion in school admissions processes continues to take place in the absence of data, heedless of how oversubscription and a lack of resources are the real problems on the ground, according to the body that represents Ireland’s Catholic primary schools. Speaking to The Irish Catholic following a forum in Croke…
Greg Daly
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Chai Brady