John Reid A Dublin priest has expressed concern after the National Transport Authority (NTA) published plans that would see a new road driven through his church carpark. Fr Fergus O’Connor, parish priest at our Lady Queen of Peace Church on Merrion Road, said half of the church’s carefully rebuilt car park would be removed under the…

Young children dressed at St Teresa of Calcutta and St Kateri Tekakwitha at Navan parish’s All Saints’ Party on October 31, where the children joined in prayer calling for peace in Syria.

The cardinal leading the earthquake-struck Archdiocese of Perugia-Città della Pieve in Italy has instructed priests to celebrate Mass outdoors amid fears of more tremors and structural collapses in the area. Following consultation with political and emergency service leaders in the aftermath of the devastating October 26 quake, Cardinal Gualtiero Bassetti issued his instruction for the…

Fr Frankie Mulgrew, a former comedian and the son of comedian Jimmy Cricket, has appeared in a music video to accompany an Electric Dance Music song penned to coincide with the closing of Pope Francis’ Year of Mercy.  As the Pontiff’s UK Youth Ambassador, Fr Mulgrew (pictured above with the Pontiff) was eager to lend…

Iraq’s Chaldean Patriarch Raphael Louis I Sako has expressed hope that the country’s second city, Mosul will be liberated to return to the “beautiful mosaic” of communities and faith traditions it was before the onslaught of so-called Islamic State (ISIS). In a letter to the nation, the Patriarch assures all soldiers currently fighting to rout…

John Reid and Paul Keenan Priests have been sharply critical of the decision to move the Dublin city marathon to a Sunday, meaning many parishioners were unable to attend Mass due to road closures in the capital. Many parishes along the route reported that Mass attendance was down on Sunday morning. Race organisers moved the marathon from the traditional…

Asia Bibi judge resigns from the bench The Pakistani judge whose absence from court on October 13 caused yet another postponement of Asia Bibi’s appeal against her blasphemy death sentence has resigned from the bench. Justice Iqbal Hameedur Rehman is understood to have submitted his letter of resignation on the basis that he is also a judge in the case of…

A former leading member of Sinn Féin has revealed she has quit the party over its pro-abortion stance. Speaking last weekend after the first meeting of Cherish All The Children Equally, a new cross-border pro-life lobby group, Anne Brolly said Sinn Féin’s 2015 motion to support abortion access in cases of foetal abnormality “was a…

A Vatican-appointed bishop in China will be elevated to his new bishopric on November 10 after two years waiting for approval from Beijing. Bishop Peter Ding Lingbin will be ordained for the Diocese of Changzhi, home to at least 50,000 Catholics, at a ceremony to be held at the Cathedral of Ss Peter and Paul.…

The decision of the board of the Central Catholic Library to reject permanently a plan for Dublin City University (DCU) to care for the library’s collection is contrary to the library’s best interests, according to six former board members who resigned from their positions two weeks ago. They believe their continued participation in a board…