Mags GarganBishop Anthony Farquhar, Ireland’s longest-serving bishop (ordained in 1983) who recently retired as Auxiliary Bishop of Down and Connor diocese, received the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters (DLitt) for distinguished services to Ulster University and the community. He is pictured here with Professor Deirdre Heenan Provost (Coleraine and Magee) and Dr James Nesbitt, Chancellor.…
Month: June 2016
Crisis pregnancy agency rejects claims it’s no longer pro-life
Cathal Barry
The chairperson of a well-known crisis pregnancy agency has rejected claims that the organisation no longer subscribes to its pro-life founding intentions. Dr Patrick Davey, Chairperson of Anew (formerly Life Pregnancy Care Ireland) told, told The Irish Catholic it was a matter “of great sadness that there are members of Life/Anew who feel that they…
Employ lay formation staff in every diocese – call
Staff Reporter A leading theologian and academic has called on every diocese in the country to invest in adult faith formation by employing specially trained lay formation staff. Prof. Fáinche Ryan, Assistant Professor in Systematic Theology at the Loyola Institute at Trinity College Dublin (TCD), said there should be “people involved in formation in every diocese,…
Time for a mature Church-State relationship
Greg Daly
Proposals for religious orders to help tackle the housing shortage may hint at improved relations between Church and State, writes Greg Daly
Brexit and the future of the European project
We must not allow the decision of English voters to destroy what Europeans have built over 70 years of patient statesmanship, writes John Bruton
Facing the challenges for the Church
Cathal Barry reports from a major international conference addressing the role of the Church in society
Honouring clergy for Belfast peace work
The North’s Community Relations Council (CRC) has honoured a Catholic priest and a Presbyterian minister for their cross-community cultural work in Belfast. The CRC presented to Fr Martin Magill of North Belfast’s Sacred Heart Catholic Church and South Belfast’s Fitzroy Presbyterian Church’s Rev. Steve Stockman with the CRC Annual Award for Civic Leadership in front…
Music and liturgy on the coast of Cork
This year’s Knockadoon Music and Liturgy Course, centred on the theme ‘Open to Mercy’, will take place at the Co. Cork camp over August 7-13. The Dominican camp’s residential course, this year marking its 35th anniversary, aims to equip participants with an array of up-to-date resources so they can return to their own parishes better…
Parishes swap ideas in Midsummer meeting
Eight parish councils took part in the second annual Down and Connor Diocesan Pastoral Council Midsummer evening, which was held at St Genevieve’s High School in West Belfast. This event, developed as part of the Down and Connor Diocesan Pastoral Plan, was planned to celebrate the contribution of new initiatives to the ‘Living Church’ project,…
Vocations promoters launch new brand
The Armagh branch of a Church organisation dedicated to encouraging and promoting vocations to the priesthood has taken a lead from youth in launching a new logo. “We need to look to the youth as they are the future,” said David Greer, Armagh Diocesan President of St Joseph’s Young Priests Society. Describing how pupils of…