The Vatican has asked Catholic bishops around the world, both in the Latin rite and the Eastern Catholic Churches, to provide their faithful with resources to support personal and family prayer during Holy Week and at Easter, especially where Covid-19 restrictions prevent them from going to church. The Congregation for Eastern Churches urged the heads…
The View They do things differently in Russia. According to newspaper reports (Le Monde, March 4), President Vladimir Putin intends to introduce a reference to God into the Russian Constitution, similar to the preamble to Bunreacht na hÉireann. It will invoke ‘the memory of our ancestors who have transmitted to us ideals and faith…
Chai Brady and Aron Hegarty The coronavirus crisis can be an opportunity for parishes to creatively reconnect with people who have lost touch with the Church, it has been claimed. It comes as parishes up and down the country are finding new ways to offer liturgy and pastoral support due to the suspension of…
The Lord provides us with the means to pass through the challenges that life provides, if we are willing to listen, writes David Quinn “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” These…
Messages that encourage people to pray a certain amount of times to avert harm are ‘sacrilegious’ and ‘superstitious’, according to a renowned Vincentian priest and exorcist who said people should put their trust in God at this time of crisis. Dublin-based Fr Pat Collins CM has warned against chain letters or messages which are causing…
Faced with coronavirus, the question is not so much why but how can we respond as people of Faith writes Bairbre Cahill “Who do you say I am?” It is a question Jesus poses to the apostles in Mark 8:29 and which is being posed to us now too. I came across someone recently…
A pastoral worker in Northern Ireland has called on all the churches of Ireland to ring their bells as a show of solidarity and hope during the coronavirus (Covid-19) crisis. Brian McKee, a Belfast native, wants all churches across the country to unite by ringing their chapel bells together for one minute at noon this…
The virus has demonstrated that we still have the national capacity to come together and unite against a common threat, writes John McGuirk This column is usually about criticising politicians and identifying all the things wrong with the country. No doubt, it will be just that again in the future, but it’s been very…
Dioceses in Italy have reported the deaths of around 50 priests as a result of the coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak, according to official Church sources in the country. Avvenire, the Italian newspaper owned by the Italian bishops’ conference, attributes the majority of these priests’ deaths to Covid-19. The publication also noted two cases where Fr Guido…
Catholics who are suffering from or caring for people with the coronavirus will be granted a plenary indulgence, the Vatican has announced. Pope Francis revealed at the weekend that he will deliver an extraordinary Urbi et Orbi blessing this Friday (March 27) at 5pm Irish time. Usually given only immediately after a new Pope’s election…
David Quinn
Chai Brady
Bairbre Cahill