Real dialogue is Venezuela’s last hope, writes Paul Keenan

Nearly 40% of people in the Republic plan to see Pope Francis when he visits Ireland in 2018, a new poll has found. Conducted by Ipsos/MRBI on behalf of The Irish Times newspaper, the poll is the first since the announcement that the Pontiff will travel to Ireland for the World Meeting of Families. Overall,…

A House of Lords report that has recommended that questions of freedom of movement across the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic has been welcomed by Derry’s Bishop Donal McKeown. “It’s certainly very encouraging for us here to discover that there are people in significant positions who are concerned about the effect that Brexit…

Archbishop Eamon Martin, Primate of All Ireland has paid tribute to Bishop Gerard Clifford (pictured), who died on December 12, aged 75. Recalling a “dear episcopal colleague” who was a “generous priest and bishop”, Archbishop Eamon said “Bishop Clifford was a holy and humble man who instinctively placed the concerns of others first, as befits…

Fr Damien Nejad and Raphoe’s Bishop Philip Boyce, OCD at the ordination of Fr Nejad in Letterkenny’s Cathedral of Ss Eunan and Columba on Sunday, December 11. Glasgow-born Fr Nejad’s mother comes from Annagry, where Fr Nejad celebrated his first Mass on the evening of December 11 in the Church of St Mary Star of…

“Supporting and sustaining a culture of life is in the interests of every generation and it defines us as a society,” the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference has said in its submission to the Citizens’ Assembly on the Eighth Amendment. In a lengthy document, entitled ‘Two Lives, One Love’ and  issued on December 9, the bishops…

Staff Reporter A leading psychiatrist has welcomed a new study which establishes an appreciable link between the time spent by a mother with her children and the children’s cognitive and social development. Reacting to news that researchers from the University of Essex and University College London have found that the greater a mother’s attention and…

Bishop Kevin Doran testing equipment at the opening and blessing of a new school extension and all-weather astro-turf facility at St Cuan’s College, Castleblakeney, Co. Galway on Friday, December 9. Photo: Gerry Stronge

Bishops’ disappointment at omissions in motion

Egypt’s Coptic community is living in fear of further attacks over the Christmas period after bombers targeted a packed Advent Mass at the community’s main cathedral in Cairo. While there had been no claim of responsibility for the December 11 attack on St Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Cathedral by the time The Irish Catholic went to…