“More is needed” in helping the Travelling community to overcome the prejudice they suffer, a priest working with the community has said. Speaking during a memorial Mass for the first anniversary of the Carrickmines tragedy, in which 10 people died, Fr Derek Farrell, parish priest to the Travelling People said the devastating event should have…

John Reid The Government has been urged to provide more resources to ensure that a huge backlog in child protection vetting does not continue to hamper local schools. Educators have complained that the current system, while entirely welcome in its aim of safeguarding children, is at risk of defeating its purpose as massive delays are being…

Spiritan Bishop Maurice Piat from Mauritius, who studied for the priesthood in Ireland and Rome in the 1960s, said that he first heard the news of his recent nomination as cardinal when a friend phoned to congratulate him. He didn’t believe it.  Asked by a journalist what he thought his elevation meant, Bishop Maurice said…

Mary Lou Quinlan tells Greg Daly about a remarkable testimony to her mother’s love

China is poised to enact harsh new controls on religion within days, it has been reported. As The Irish Catholic went to press this week, numerous media outlets warned that new regulations aimed directly at individuals and faith communities are set to be rolled out by Beijing.  The regulations, issued in draft form in September…

Legal firm receives threats in Pakistan blasphemy case A legal firm in Pakistan has received threats for attempting to offer representation for a young boy accused of blasphemy. The Voice group, an NGO led by a Christian lawyer Aneeqa Maria Anthony, has been linked to the case of 16-year-old Nabeel Masih who is accused of blasphemy on the basis of sharing a…

A government department in Turkey has said interfaith dialogue with Christians was the path by which those allegedly behind the July 15 coup laid their plans. In a dossier compiled by the Presidency of Religious Affairs of Turkey, the exiled Islamic cleric Fetullah Gulen, nemesis to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is accused of exploiting interfaith…

“We’re claiming him for Drimnagh” – PP

Synod 2018 details announced The Holy See has announced that the next Synod of Bishops, to take place in October 2018, will focus on “youth, faith, and vocational discernment”. This will be the 15th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops since Blessed Paul VI’s establishment of the institution in 1965. It has been reported that the…

Famed Irish poet Brendan Kennelly has said he prays the Rosary every day and loves the “music of prayer”. Ahead of events to mark his 80th year, Kennelly was the subject of a broad-ranging interview on RTÉ Radio, during which he spoke of his roots in Co. Kerry, his calling as a poet and the…