Msgr Colm McCaughan RIP The death has taken place of Msgr Colm McCaughan, former Chancellor of the Diocese of Down & Connor. He was 89. Born in 1927 in Ballycastle, Co. Antrim, Colm began his studies for the priesthood in 1946 and was ordained in 1954. He assumed his first appointment as curate in Bangor.…

Pope Francis has brought some early Christmas cheer to a Co. Meath schoolboy who wrote to the Pontiff, seeking a hug when he visits Ireland in 2018. Six-year-old Ethan Toner was prompted to pen his letter when, on returning to a new term at St Dympna’s NS in Kildalkey, he felt unsettled and visited the…

Just 1% of pupils in Irish Catholic schools are choosing to opt out of Religious Education classes, according to study submissions made to the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA). As the NCCA continues with plans for world religions to receive greater representation and coverage in schools via an Education about Religion and Beliefs…

In one of the final legislative acts before the Christmas break, the US Congress has passed a new religious freedom act which aims to make tackling religious persecution a key part of America’s foreign policy. The Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act passed through the Houses of Representatives and Senate with no opposition and…

Christian umbrella group calls for action on church collapse The Christian Association of Nigeria, the umbrella body for Christian denominations in that country, has alleged that poor enforcement of building codes was directly responsible for the December 10 fatal church collapse.  Investigators state that the official number of dead in the incident at the Reigners…

The Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Community (COMECE) has issued a document calling on Member States of the European Union to Member “to develop together with civil society and Church actors an integrated approach to combat poverty and social exclusion in all its forms”. In ‘Rescue the Weak and the Poor’, the…

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has acknowledged that it incorrectly accused the Catholic Church of failing to speak out or act against the persecution of Jews in Europe during World War II. During a BBC news broadcast in July, covering Pope Francis’ visit to the Auschwitz concentration camp, a reporter stated: “Silence was the response…

A Senate Judiciary Committee in the United States has recommended that the country’s largest abortion provider be investigated by the FBI and the Department of Justice in connection with allegations of illicit trading in aborted body parts. Arising from undercover footage filmed by pro-life activists appearing to show members of Planned Parenthood engaging in trade…

Vatican envoy warns of rising anti-Christian violence in Europe Anti-Christian intolerance and violence are on the rise in Europe, the Holy See’s Permanent Representative to the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has warned. In three addresses to a December 14 conference in Vienna on ‘Combating Intolerance and Discriminations of Christians’, Monsignor Janusz…

‘Their plight gives us cause for thought’ – Archbishop Martin