What has been happening in Israel and Gaza has horrified the world, writes Prof. Séamus Murphy The world has been following the horrors unfolding in the Middle East after the terrorist attack against Israel by Hamas on October 7 which saw 1,400 people killed, the vast majority being civilians. More than 240 hostages were taken…

A steady decline in priests self-describing as progressive has reached zero-point, writes Ruadhán Jones The number of priests in the United States self-describing as theologically ‘progressive’ has steadily declined, to the point that in younger generations the phenomenon has all but vanished, a new report shows. No priests surveyed by The Catholic Project who were…

Leaders often speak at least as loudly by what they don’t say as by what they do, and such would appear to be the case in recent days regarding Pope Francis’s approach to Israel and the broader Jewish world. A series of perceived papal slights began in late October, when a group of family members…

A new ruling from the Vatican’s doctrinal office says that transsexual individuals can be baptised, and also opens a cautious door to allowing transgender and homosexual couples to serve as godparents, while indicating that the “homosexual lifestyle” remains sinful and that more suitable options ought to be considered. The decision, which came in response to…

Priests and others in ministry in different parts of Ireland have asked me how our new funeral policy is working out. This policy was introduced in Cork and Ross in 2021, as we left Covid restrictions behind, enshrining some of our Covid learnings regarding funerary practice. Some local pastoral concerns that had been crying out…

According to that global innovator, Elon Musk, the development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) will mean that in the future no one will need to work. The robots will do everything, while men and women will go on to live the life of Riley, without the need to labour for their daily bread. Would such a…

Parents need guarantees from the State that the ethos of Catholic schools would be properly respected, writes David Quinn Is it really true that only Catholics can teach in Catholic schools in Ireland, as a recent newspaper article seemed to suggest? The short answer is no, but that didn’t stop the issue being debated on…

Relations between Catholics and Protestants seem to be fraying in the North, Chai Brady writes Good relations between Catholics and Protestants in the North have decreased substantially according to the latest statistics from the Executive. A number of factors are influencing this decline – including the fact that since 2021 questions have been changed in…

Cindy Wooden In an hourlong interview with Italy’s main news programme, Pope Francis announced he would travel to Dubai in early December for the UN Climate Change Conference, COP28. He also revealed that he speaks every day with the priest and women religious at Holy Family Church in Gaza, that he was pleased with the…

Eduardo Campos Lima Despite hopes that violent land disputes in Brazil would diminish with the return to power of leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, generally seen as more favourable to land reform and Indigenous rights, Brazil’s Catholic bishops recently reported no decline over the first six months of 2023. For the most part,…