Greg Daly attends the AGM of the Association of Catholic Priests

Irish bishops have rejected claims that clergy are facing into a retirement black hole due to falling parish collections. Fr Gerry O’Connor of the Association of Catholic Priests (ACP) told The Irish Catholic that “Dioceses which are experiencing a decline in revenue from collections are saying to elderly priests: ‘we may not be able to…

Pope Francis has concluded the Year of Mercy with a call on the Church and faithful to “identify and practise” new works of mercy. In an act mirrored in churches around the world last Sunday, the Pontiff closed the Holy Door at St Peter’s Basilica to officially end the jubilee year, and reminded pilgrims in…

Students at St Patrick’s College, Maynooth, celebrate with Armagh’s Archbishop Eamon Martin after the conferral of over 265 students with qualifications in theology and philosophy.

Relief at safe return of kidnapped Mexican cleric The Bishop of the Mexican Diocese of Andres Tuxtla, Veracruz, has expressed his relief and gratitude for the safe return of Fr José Luis Sánchez Ruiz of Catemaco, who was kidnapped on November 11.  In a statement following the priest’s release three days after his disappearance, Bishop…

Staff reporter Bishop Donal McKeown of Derry has said that the early division of school children through testing “damages educational outcomes of our society”. Speaking last week as he blessed the new extension at All Saints Primary School in Tattysallagh in Co. Tyrone, Bishop McKeown stressed the long-term value of non-selective education for all students,…

Archbishop José Luis Escobar Alas of San Salvador, El Salvador, has urged the government to re-examine its anti-gang initiative amid claims that it has failed to make citizens safer from ongoing violence.  Plan El Salvador Seguro was launched in mid-2015 towards curbing murders and extortions carried out by the country’s notorious gangs. However, while latest…

Bishop Fintan Monahan of Killaloe has appealed to Government and others in positions of leadership to “maintain rural life”. Speaking to The Irish Catholic this week as An Post signalled that a major wave of post office closures is possible, Bishop Monahan said the “impoverishment of rural Ireland” remains a big issue of concern for…

Christians who managed to survive under the rule of so-called Islamic State (ISIS) have related their experiences.  In interviews conducted with the Egyptian newspaper al Ahram in the Kurdish town of Erbil, Ismail Matti of Bartalla and elderly Zarifa Bakoos Daddo of Qaraqosh spoke of being caught unprepared by the ISIS advance of 2014 and…

RTÉ broadcaster Miriam O’Callaghan was on hand to encourage children everywhere to have a ‘Mad Hair Day’ this December 16 for a good cause. A fundraising initiative of the Society of Missionary Children, the event calls for children to adopt zany hairstyles as they collect money for poverty stricken children across the world. This year…