The Irish state has been given two weeks to clarify whether, in fact, there is a law against Masses being said in public. The instruction was made on Tuesday March 23 by Judge Charles Meenan, as part of the constitutional case being taken by businessman Declan Ganley, according to Gript.ie. Mr Ganley’s lawyers used a…
The northern bishops have accused the British government of showing a “reckless disregard” for the region’s cross-community power-sharing government over plans to impose abortion legislation. The Westminster government has announced that it is to give the Secretary of State new powers to compel the locally-elected parliament to implement abortion laws. In March 2020, when the…
In a recent book, Frostquake, the English writer Juliet Nicolson recalls the winter of 1962-63, which was the coldest for perhaps 80 years. Everything froze, communications broke down, lights and heating went out. When the thaw came, in March of 1963, it is Ms Nicolson’s thesis that Britain – and elsewhere, too – woke to…
Pope Francis has urged Irish Catholics to remember the great faith that Irish missionaries have brought to every corner of the world. The Pope made the plea on Friday evening via a videolink to Knock Shrine where he formally elevated the site of the Virgin Mary’s apparition in 1879 as an international sanctuary of special…
A much-anticipated report on the handling of abuse cases in the Archdiocese of Cologne exonerates Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki but Hamburg Archbishop Stefan Heße has requested “immediate release” from his duties following the report. The report by the law firm Gercke Wollschläger accuses Cardinal Woelki’s predecessors, the deceased Cardinals Joseph Höffner (1906-1987) and Joachim Meisner…
Parishioners gathered in Wexford and Dublin this weekend to pray for a return to public worship, as Christians face a second Easter without Mass. “Sixty people gathered together, all safely spaced out,” said Ms Katie Black, who was involved in the gatherings. “Everyone was delighted to come together and some even expressed later that they…
As we approach Holy Week, a couple of activities can help families hold fast to their Lenten resolutions, writes Jason Osborne The end of Lent is rapidly approaching, and it would be all too easy to let our guard down now. In particular, children who are just beginning to grow into the liturgical life of the…
A new survey carried out has shown that almost half (47%) of regular Mass goers would attend Mass today if they could, despite the ongoing pandemic. The poll, which was commissioned by the Iona Institute, found that 57% of regular Mass-goers went again over Christmas, and over 24% of the overall population. The same research…
Faith leaders have an important role to play as the world continues to respond to the coronavirus pandemic and the ups and downs of vaccine distribution, participants in a webinar heard. That role is based on trust and accurately sharing information, said Kathryn Kraft, senior research adviser for faith and development at World Vision International.…
The View Many problems in life arise from the habitual gap between ideals and realities. The Church knows this well, as it works at the coalface trying to bring into some harmony the ideal of a Christian life and a Christian society with the realities of personal sinfulness and sometimes dire societal failings. Churches are…
Ruadhán Jones
Mary Kenny