Courtney McGrailMsgr Colm McCaughan RIP The death has taken place of Msgr Colm McCaughan, former Chancellor of the Diocese of Down & Connor. He was 89. Born in 1927 in Ballycastle, Co. Antrim, Colm began his studies for the priesthood in 1946 and was ordained in 1954. He assumed his first appointment as curate in Bangor.…
Month: December 2016
For Fatima’s centenary – again, the cause of peace, and Russia?
Mary Kenny
Mary Kenny writes that the “appropriate way to mark the centenary of Fatima is to continue to pray for peace” The 2017 centenary of the apparitions at Fatima will surely be a significant focus for the devotional life of the Catholic Church. The story of the three Portuguese child visionaries is a poignant and compelling…
Pro Cathedral launches annual unwanted gifts collection drive
Staff Reporter The annual collection of unwanted gifts at Dublin’s St Mary’s Pro Cathedral got underway on St Stephen’s Day and runs until January 6. An initiative of Crosscare, the archdiocese’s social care agency, the collection invites anyone who is willing to ‘re-gift’ a Christmas present to drop parcels at St Mary’s crib. The gifts…
Limerick launches wide-ranging ‘moving forward’ plan for future of the diocese
Paul KeenanThe working together of clergy and laity in the Diocese of Limerick for the future of the Church there has “borne great fruit”, Bishop Brendan Leahy has said. Speaking as he unveiled a range of measures contained in a pastoral plan for his diocese agreed in the wake of a synod earlier this year, the…
Bumper receipts for charity fast before the feast
Wexford’s annual St Iberius Four Day fast has raised over €46,000 for charity, local priest Fr Aodhán Marken has said. The fast, which since the late 1990s has been an ecumenical event held outside St Iberius’ Church, saw Fr Marken joining Church of Ireland Rev. Arthur Minion for four days during which the two clerics…
Broadcasting watchdog BAI issues warning to RTÉ over ‘abortion bias’
Senator calls for ‘serious response’ from state broadcaster on breaches
The challenge is to be a realist, not a ‘negaholic’
Michael Kelly“People who are addicted to negativity are generally angry about something”, writes Michael Kelly
Pope: persecuted Christians witness to truth of faith
Pope Francis has urged Catholics to remember their fellow believers who suffer daily persecution because of their faith. Speaking on St Stephen’s Day – the feastday of the first Christian martyr – the Pope said: “when we read the history of the early centuries, here in Rome, we read about so much cruelty to Christians.…
Don’t lose hope in God’s goodness
Fr Martin Henry The opening chapter of St Luke’s Gospel mentions the Visitation of Mary to her cousin Elisabeth, and the birth of Jesus is recorded in the following chapter. Both events are commemorated in the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary. Why, one may wonder, are they referred to as ‘mysteries’ rather than, say, facts…
Call for investigation into Belfast clinic after damning report
Greg DalyActivities at Belfast’s Marie Stopes clinic are “shrouded in darkness” and should be investigated, a leading pro-life campaigner has said in the aftermath of a damning report into the organisation’s English abortion centres. The report by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), which followed inspections at clinics in 10 locations across England, as well its call…