Italy has deported two Moroccan nationals for their parts in causing disturbances in churches. Interior Minister Angelino Alfano confirmed that a 25-year-old man who was arrested for throwing a crucifix to the ground in a church in Venice had been expelled alongside a 69-year-old who stormed into a church in Trentino shouting abusive comments about…
Members of the Muslim faith in France have attended Masses in a show of solidarity after the murder of Fr Jacques Hamel. Heeding a call from the French Council for the Muslim Religion, members joined with worshippers at Masses in defiance of the message of separation communicated by so-called Islamic State (ISIS) as it inspires…
Prayers for an end to terrorism “We come to you today to ask you to keep in peace the world and its people, to keep far away from it the devastating wave of terrorism, to restore friendship and instil in the hearts of your creatures the gift of trust and of readiness to forgive.” These were the words of Pope…
A photo of slain Father Jacques Hamel is seen among fl owers at a makeshift memorial in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, near Rouen, France. Photo: CNS
With a visit Saturday morning to the Sanctuary of Divine Mercy in Lagiewniki and then a Mass at Krakow’s sprawling Sanctuary of St John Paul II, Pope Francis paid homage to his storied predecessor Saturday morning and to St Faustina Kowalska, whose legacies hang over his Year of Mercy. Popes pay tribute to their predecessors…
Understand the enemy and you can beat him, writes Paul Keenan
Dear Editor, The brutal murder of Fr Jacques Hamel while celebrating Mass in northern France is one Catholics must reflect on with care. In your report on the murder’s repercussions among French Catholics (‘French Catholics in fear after Islamists kill priest at Mass’ IC 28/07/2016), you quote Fr Aidan Troy as saying that “attacking a…
Dear Editor, Last Thursday, I happened to hear Ray D’Arcy interview Sinead McBreen on his afternoon radio show on Radio One. While it was a pleasant surprise to hear Ray giving voice to the pro-life side of the abortion debate, I was disappointed at how the discussion played out. By the end of the interview…
Dear Editor, It’s clear now that the purpose of the proposed ‘Citizens’ Assembly’, to be chosen by a polling company, is to remove the protections of the Eighth Amendment for the unborn. This unelected, unnecessary ‘assembly’ is a political fig-leaf, designed to give political cover to politicians who desire the destruction of Ireland’s constitutional protections…
Dear Editor, Your coverage of clerical remuneration (IC 18/07/2016) was of great interest to many of your readers. What trade union would accept a situation where members with equal experience and qualifications were on 26 different pay scales? Indeed from any cursory reading of the New Testament it is clear that Jesus treated all his…
Paul Keenan
John L. Allen Jr.