Bro. Kevin sees trip as a boost for the forgotten ChaiBrady and Colm Fitzpatrick The decision by Pope Francis to spend part of his trip to Ireland with homeless people will shed a light on those being left behind by the economic recovery, campaigners in the frontline have said. The Society of St Vincent de Paul…
Month: June 2018
Study Guide: Laudato Si’ Praise Be To You
With just weeks until Pope Francis is in Dublin for the World Meeting of Families, attention is focusing on his teachings and what his message will be to the Church in Ireland. Over the next few weeks, we’ll continue to publish study guides to the Pope’s landmark documents – this week Laudado Si’ by Prof.…
Zappone criticised for overlooking stay-at-home parents
A speech by the Children’s Minister during the launch of plans to overhaul childcare funding has been said to ignore “the reality of life for many families”. Minister Katherine Zappone’s announcement of a 10-year plan to be handled by a new ‘Parenting and Family Unit Policy Unit’ in her department received criticism from Maria Steen…
Inspiration for all in the lives of saints
Saints for the Family by John Murray (Messenger Publications, €9.95) Inspiration from the Saints: Stories from the Lives of Catholic Holy Men and Women by Maolsheachlann Ó Ceallaigh (Angelico Press, £12.50 / US$16.95) Fr John Murray is the busy parish priest of Downpatrick in Ulster. His name may well be familiar to readers both from his…
Conscientious objectors should not be obliged to facilitate abortion – PLC
A pro-life group have pledged they will pressure legislators to make provisions for doctors to opt out of providing abortion on conscientious objection grounds, regardless of whether they are asked to facilitate abortions directly or indirectly. The Love Both campaign revealed at a press conference that they will be making a case for the law…
Mary-Lou might like to express solidarity with Deal bomb victims
A retired nurse died last month in a small hospital in Deal, Kent and many local people paid tribute to her. She was Mrs Maureen Bane, aged 76, and she had been the team leader coping with the victims of the IRA attack on the Deal bandsman in September 1989. On the morning of September 22,…
Getting to the heart of the gospel message for everyone
A Gospel of Hope by Walter Brueggemann (Hodder and Stoughton, £12.99) As we get ready to mark the end of the First World War, the Great War as it was then called, and the war to supposedly save civilisation, many will be recalling that the treaty that concluded that appalling conflict was the source, within a…
Archbishop isn’t ruling out papal visit to North
The Primate of All Ireland has said he isn’t “ruling out the possibility” of Pope Francis visiting the North of Ireland at some point in the future, and that it may have to be a “specific” visit. Speaking in Maynooth University on June 11, Archbishop of Armagh Eamonn Martin said there’s disappointment at the “level…
Resignation accepted for Chile bishop at centre of child abuse scandal
Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Bishop Juan Barros Madrid from his post in the Diocese of Osorno after he was accused of covering-up for Chile’s most notorious abuser priest, Fernando Karadima. The Vatican announcement over the weekend also included the accepted resignation of two other Chilean bishops. Bishop Barros submitted his resignation to…
We must find the 30,000 young people who voted ‘No’ and re-build from there
The View The referendum defeat poses significant questions, not just for the pro-life movement, but for the Church. While abortion is not just a Catholic issue and some of the most active retain campaigners were atheists and agnostics, belief in the sanctity of life is a core value for Catholicism. Although I am completely sure…