The role of female laity must be “enhanced” so that they are brought into the decision-making process of the Church, Armagh’s new Auxiliary Bishop has said. Speaking ahead of his ordination Mass in St Patrick’s Cathedral on Sunday, Dr Michael Router told this newspaper that the majority of worshippers are female, and stressed that the…
The Church response to the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been “amazing” according to a Trócaire worker currently in the country. The Head of Humanitarian Programmes for Ireland’s Church-charity, Noreen Gumbo flew to the DRC after the World Health Organisation announced last week the disease’s spread was an emergency of…
Anna is a long-time friend of mine. She is a devout Anglican, English, and also a member of the Conservative Party. Thus, she had a vote in deciding whether Jeremy Hunt or Boris Johnson should become the next Conservative leader, and next Prime Minister of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. She’s a conscientious person and…
Public concern about housing and homelessness is set to be a defining issue in the next general election, Focus Ireland has said. Speaking to The Irish Catholic, Mike Allen of Focus said widespread concern on doorsteps about the housing crisis has not yet manifested in the ballot box. “I think some of the political strategists…
The View Unless the Northern Ireland Assembly is reconstituted and an Executive is formed on or before October 21, 2019, abortion law in Northern Ireland will change utterly on October 22, 2019. 66% of women and 70% of 18-34-year-olds in the North said in a recent ComRes opinion poll that they did not want…
The excesses of the fertility industry will come back to bite us, writes David Quinn We are rightly disgusted at some of the adoption scandals of the past, especially those that involve a mother being effectively forced to give up her child. Another source of scandals were those instances where a birth certificate was…
Near-empty churches and unused parish land should be repurposed to help save the environment, a leading eco-theologian has said. Kevin Hargaden of Dublin’s Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice told this newspaper that instead of being dispersed over a number of churches, parishioners should gather in “larger groups”, creating opportunities for vacant churches to be…
After Massgoers’ prayers for golfer Shane Lowry were answered over the weekend, there is “tremendous excitement” in Clara parish, a local priest has said. Shane returned home to the small Offaly town on Wednesday and received a hero’s welcome after winning the British Open. Commenting on Shane’s mother Bridget clutching a statue of St Anthony…
The search for the remains of missing 15-year-old Emanuela Orlandi took another twist as Vatican officials discovered “thousands” of human bones in a previously unknown ossuary over the weekend. It is unclear if any of the bones belong to Orlandi, or how old they are. On July 11, the Vatican opened two tombs belonging to…
The canonisation cause of a famous Irish-American priest has taken a key step forward with the presentation in the Vatican of a summary of records about his life. A positio about Roscommon-born Fr Edward Flanagan, founder of Nebraska’s Boys Town community was presented to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints on Monday July 22,…
Colm Fitzpatrick
Chai Brady
Mary Kenny
Greg Daly
Nuala O’Loan
David Quinn