Pope Leo XIV has appointed Bishop Michael Router as the new Bishop of Derry following the retirement of Bishop Donal McKeown. The Vatican announced on Thursday that Pope Leo had accepted Bishop McKeown’s resignation and transferred Bishop Router from his role as Auxiliary Bishop of Armagh. Bishop McKeown will remain as Apostolic Administrator of the…
Young people are “desperately looking for people who are authentic and religious,” said Bishop Alphonsus Cullinan during the Annual Solemn Novena at Whitefriar Street Church, urging Catholics to become “authentic disciples” by living out their faith in everyday life. Speaking to The Irish Catholic afterwards, the Bishop of Waterford and Lismore said many young people…
A Catholic priest has warned that Irish people are increasingly abandoning the practice of their faith not through open defiance, but through a “quiet indifference” that leaves them comfortable, untroubled, and unaware of what they are losing. Fr Robert Mc Namara, writing in a reflection for The Irish Catholic, said that after more than 30 years…
A coalition of over 170 Christian organisations across the EU have outlined four asks for the Irish and European governments, urging them to demonstrate climate leadership and value care for creation over competitiveness. Speaking shortly after the recent meeting of the Taoiseach with the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Community (COMECE) and…
The oldest and largest Irish Catholic American organisation in the United States is calling for the immediate preservation of the former Bessborough Mother and Baby home site in Blackrock, Co. Cork. The Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH) has recently condemned the decision, made by An Coimisiún Pleanála (Ireland’s independent planning commission), to permit a residential…
Irish Senator Rónán Mullen has said there was much to admire in Ann Widdecombe’s faith following the former MP’s suspected murder last week at the age of 78. Senator Mullen writes in this paper that her “fearlessness and her willingness to speak up for the most defenceless of human beings” are very commendable. Ms Widdecombe…
Apostolic Nuncio to Ireland Archbishop Luis Mariano Montemayor has resigned, as announced by Pope Leo XIV on July 11, and bishops around the country have expressed their gratitude for the nuncio’s involvement and support since his appointment in February 2023. The Bishops of the Tuam Ecclesiastical province, including Archbishop Francis Duffy, Bishop Kevin Doran, and…
Almost half of Kilmore Diocese’s priests are over 70 years old, Bishop Martin Hayes said when announcing summer clergy appointments. This means that “the task of providing priests for each parish into the future in Kilmore Diocese is challenging and amounts to a crisis.” The bishop, however, sees a opportunity in the crisis. He said…
On Monday, over 30 young people aged 13-20 partook in the Croagh Patrick Youth Pilgrimage led by Fr Eamon Roche. Many involved were from a local youth faith camp, Camp Creidamh and from the local Diocese of Cloyne. Deacon John McCarthy assisted Fr Roche throughout the day. He explained that pilgrimage is about transformation. “We’re…
The Catholic Church is not seeking to advance its own interests within the European Union but to help the bloc remain faithful to the values on which it was founded, COMECE President Bishop Mariano Crociata has said. Speaking to The Irish Catholic after meeting Taoiseach Micheál Martin as part of Ireland’s Presidency of the Council…
Renata Steffens