A prominent Irish Catholic book publisher will be closing three of its stores due to “trading difficulty” and is making moves to invest more on online sales. Veritas announced its decision to shut outlets in Sligo, Monaghan and Naas today (November 30) with closure taking place by the end of January 2019. Mr Aidan Chester,…
Churches are on the front lines in reaching out to people suffering from violence in the home, priests have said. “In certain parts of Ireland I’d say it would be a big part of your ministry, and not an easy one,” Cork-based Redemptorist Fr Gerry O’Connor told The Irish Catholic, explaining that priests are often…
The Vatican is unlikely to invite Archbishop Diarmuid Martin to participate at a key summit on abuse due to be held in the New Year, one of the organisers has indicated. Pope Francis has called the heads of bishops’ conference from around the world – including Archbishop of Armagh Eamon Martin – to Rome in…
President Michael D. Higgins spoke last weekend about the “scourge” of violence against women – there is a global campaign this week and next to halt this horrible offence. Who would disagree with him, or the purpose of the campaign? Gender-based violence – sometimes called domestic abuse, since it often takes place in the home…
One of Ireland’s most iconic churches has re-opened to the public having been closed for visits due to acts of vandalism. The college chapel of the national seminary at Maynooth will re-open for four hours a week and members of the public are invited to come and pray or visit the historic neo-Gothic structure. While…
Care for victims has to be taken into account when priests credibly accused of abuse die, an abuse survivor and child protection campaigner has said. Speaking against the background of complaints from the Association of Catholic Priests that “proper funerals” are sometimes denied to priests who die while facing allegations of abuse, Mark Vincent Healy…
Families of the Ballymurphy Massacre are reliving the “harrowing” details of the killing of their loved ones as the inquest into their deaths continues, according to the parish priest of Ballymurphy. Fr Patrick McCafferty said that revisiting the tragedy for the victims’ families is “as raw today as it was almost 50 years ago”. This…
The View Being Catholic means being neither right-wing nor left-wing. It means embracing the social teaching on the Church on major issues and using prudential judgement in less important areas. There is a growing phenomenon of young men and some young women who tend to be right-wing economically but also to oppose abortion. Let’s…
Aggressive nationalism is to blame for a rise in violence and other intimidation against religious minorities – and the West is failing to convert words of concern into action, according to a report by the charity Aid to the Church in Need. Assessing all 196 countries around the globe, the Religious Freedom in the World…
It is essential for the doctors of today to fight for the rights of the doctors of tomorrow, writes Dr Keith Holmes Several generations past in Ireland, the vast majority of doctors were Catholics who came from Catholic families; if, as students, they wished to go to Trinity College, then various ecclesiastical permissions had…
Chai Brady
Greg Daly
Mary Kenny
Breda O'Brien