The Second Vatican Council continues to have an enduring impact on the Church and on the papacy of Pope Francis, according to the Vatican’s top diplomat, Cardinal Pietro Parolin. That gathering of bishops from around the world presented a new paradigm of a “world Church – a Church with a global dimension”, said the cardinal,…
Government failures to settle refugees are not surprising, but a new scheme gives the Church the opportunity to step up and help, a leading priest has said. “It’s not surprising the system they’ve had in place is failing because it lacked a vision underpinning it about what integration is,” Fr Alan Hilliard told The Irish…
Altar servers celebrate in St Patrick’s Cathedral, Armagh on the feastday of St John Berchmans, November 26, the patron saint of altar servers.
A diocesan bishop is the sole judge in the streamlined process for handling marriage annulments, Pope Francis has said. The simplified process “is not an option that the diocesan bishop can choose, but rather an obligation that derives from his consecration and from the mission received”, making the bishop the sole and exclusive authority in…
Liberal Churches lose both members and integrity, writes David Quinn The Lutheran Church of Sweden is urging its clergy to use gender-neutral language when referring to God and avoid words like ‘Lord’ and ‘he’ and ‘father’. What Martin Luther, after whom the Lutheran Churches are obviously named, would think should be obvious. He would…
As Pope Francis continues his tour to Myanmar and Bangladesh, Catholics in neighbouring India regret missing a chance to meet him in their homeland, nostalgically recalling past papal visits, reported ucanews.com. Catholic groups began discussing plans to host the pontiff earlier this year, after the Vatican confirmed a papal visit to the region. According to…
We have a duty to stand in solidarity with persecuted believers, writes Dr Michael Kinsella As 2017 comes to a close, we can reflect upon a year in which the Church marked both the 70th anniversary of the founding of Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) by Fr Werenfried van Straaten and the…
Science and Spiritual Practices: Transformative experiences and their effects on our bodies, brains, and health by Rupert Sheldrake (Coronet, £20.00) Christopher Moriarty Scientific evidence shows that humans have sought, for tens of thousands of years, to connect their activities with something outside their day-to-day activities. Since history began, written records of religious practices have…
Mayo: Pupils from Rice College, Westport who received Pope John Paul II awards from Archbishop Michael Neary during a ceremony at Knock Shrine.
Staff at the headquarters of the Church in Ireland are taking up the Pope’s challenge to go green looking about how they can practically take on board the Pope’s ecological letter Laudado Si’ on the care of creation. Around 20 members of the hierarchy’s secretariat attended a training day hosted by representatives from Trócaire and…
Greg Daly
David Quinn
Susan Gately