We have become all too used to controversy in the Church. Whether it is reactions to the mishandling of clerical sexual abuse or disputes over whether or not divorced and remarried Catholics should receive Holy Communion, division sometimes seems everywhere. While it is important to stand up for what is true and beautiful, it is…
Gabriel Doherty November 1918 is now, of course, best remembered for the signing of the Armistice that ended the fighting of the First World War. As the month broke, however, The Irish Catholic was more immediately concerned with the threat of death from another enemy, with whom no negotiated peace was possible. Fatalities from the…
Dublin-based priest and author of Why the Irish Church Deserves to Die, Fr Joe McDonald has launched a new Church-reform initiative to address the problems it is currently facing. Speaking at the Roncalli Community launch this month, named after Pope John XXIII, Angelo Roncalli, Fr McDonald said we need to “preach Jesus and the Gospel…
Creating family-friendly church services will encourage new mothers to attend Mass, a Limerick-based priest has said. Fr Seamus Enright, Rector of the Redemptorist Fathers at Mount St Alphonsus Church, said that reassuring women that breastfeeding is acceptable at Mass will make mothers feel comfortable in going and bringing their children. “I suppose we’ve always operated…
Parishioners will be asked to dig deep next weekend to plug a shortfall in cash after August’s World Meeting of Families and the visit of Pope Francis. It will be the fifth time that a national collection has been taken up in parishes in a bid to cover costs associated with the event and visit…
Death comes to us all, and in recent years there’s been an ongoing debate about how we can die with dignity. For the Irish Hospice Foundation, a key part of the answer is bringing hospice-style care to wider society. “In 1986 we were formed by an inspirational lady, Dr Mary Redmond, the late Dr Mary…
Dear Editor, I thought your last week’s front-page story (IC 25/10/18) about the NI government’s reliance on charities because of failures in welfare reform was very interesting, and just goes to show how much the government there is struggling. Regardless of who is to blame, it’s an absolute disgrace that people in need are being…
The membership of the International Astronomical Union has voted to recommend that the name of a Belgian Catholic priest be added to the astronomical law explaining the expansion of the universe, or ‘Big Bang’. Using an electronic voting system, the IAU passed a resolution to recommend renaming the ‘Hubble law’ as the Hubble-Lemaître Law. The law…
A new pastoral centre was opened on October 28 at the Church of the Guardian Angels in Newtownpark in Dublin by Archbishop Diarmuid Martin. The centre already has 150 volunteers who will help with the running of activities for everyone, ranging from toddlers to senior citizens. Alongside programmes like ballet lessons, parish priest Fr Dermot…
The Irish Catholic readers have added their voice to a debate about whether the Angelus should stop being broadcast on Irish television. In an online poll, which racked up almost 1,500 votes, 94% of voters said the Angelus should continue to be broadcast on RTÉ, while only 6% said it should be stopped. The poll…
Michael Kelly
Colm Fitzpatrick
Greg Daly