Category: News

Ambassadors hear Russian Orthodox concerns

The condition of a Christian community in any given nation of the Middle East is “an indicator of security and stability” a leading Russian prelate has told ambassadors drawn from the Arab world. In an address to a gathering of 11 diplomats in Moscow, Metropolitan Hilarion chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church…

An analysis of complaints lodged with the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) for the last six years has revealed that broadcaster Ray D’Arcy has garnered more complaints than any other radio personality.  Released by The Sunday Times, the breakdown in figures for BAI complaints reveals that, in just three years with RTÉ Radio, D’Arcy was…

Vatican Roundup

Pope considering trip to famine-struck South Sudan Pope Francis has revealed he is considering the possibility of an official trip to South Sudan. Days after he made a plea for the international community to respond to “a severe food crisis, which has hit the Horn of Africa region [and] condemns to death by starvation millions…

Parents’ campaign offers Roscrea possible lifeline

The closure of Cistercian College Roscrea has been stalled as a result of a passionate campaign by parents and past pupils. Following the revelation that the Cistercian order was to close the boarding school due to financial pressures, a ‘Save CCR’ group has formed with the intention of sourcing funding for the school’s future. Speaking…

Trócaire targets “unprecedented” humanitarian need

The current scale of humanitarian need is “unprecedented” warned Trócaire, as it launched Ireland’s largest annual fundraising campaign this week. The bishops’ overseas aid agency is targeting humanitarian relief for up to one million people with its Lenten campaign, which will see schools, communities and parishes coming together over the next six weeks to pledge…

News in Brief

Our Lady of Fatima statue tours Ireland A centennial pilgrim statue of Our Lady of Fatima is making a tour of Ireland during the month of March. The statue of one of six commissioned by the Alliance of the Holy Family Int’l (AHFI) and the Human Life International – Austria, and blessed by Pope Francis…

The introduction of a single procedure application for asylum seekers has failed to address the “outstanding backlogs” in the system according to the Jesuits Refugee Service (JRS). Eugene Quinn, National Director of JRS Ireland, said that while the introduction of a new International Protection Procedure, which aims to streamline the asylum process and produce more speedy…