Two years after bombings in Sri Lanka killed hundreds at several churches and hotels on Easter, police on May 8 arrested a former cabinet minister and his brother for alleged links to the bombings. Their attorney claimed the arrests were politically motivated. Rishad Bathiudeen, who leads an opposition party in the Sri Lankan Parliament and…
The chaplaincy launched the campaign as a “sign of solidarity” with Indian students as India suffers a “catastrophic” Covid spike, Catholic chaplain Fr Seamus McEntee said. The chaplaincy’s campaign is linked to the Multipurpose Social Service Society (MPSSS) of Cuddapah diocese, Andhra Pradesh, India, a registered charity which works with local people irrespective of their…
Gianluigi Torzi, the Italian businessman who brokered the final part of the Secretariat of State’s purchase of a London investment property, has been arrested in the United Kingdom. The arrest, which took place May 11 in London, was requested by an Italian judge in Rome in April. A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police Service said:…
Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?: The World Facing the Pandemic. The Statio Orbis of March 27, 2020 by Pope Francis (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, €17.25; available through Knock Shrine Online Store) “For weeks now it has been evening. Thick darkness has gathered over our squares, our streets and our cities; it has taken over our lives,…
Catholic actors Mark Wahlberg and Mel Gibson are to star in a new film about an American priest, which has just begun filming. In Stu, Wahlberg will star as Fr Stuart Long, a onetime boxer who became a priest and died in 2014, while Gibson will play his father. Variety, a show business magazine, reported…
Liverpool’s Alisson Becker dedicated his recent goal versus West Brom to his late father, who drowned near his home in Brazil in February, saying “I’m sure he was seeing, with God at his side, celebrating”. The Brazilian goalkeeper displays great faith in God, regularly tweeting scriptural passages to his 1.2 million followers, his account reading…
Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Bishop Jan Tyrawa of Bydgoszcz, the latest bishop accused of covering up sexual abuse by clergy. The bishops’ conference said the Vatican had “conducted proceedings on reported negligence” in line with the Pontiff’s May 2019 motu proprio, Vos estis lux mundi, and had also taken account of “other…
Rhyming History: The Irish War of Independence and the Ballads of Atrocity in the Valley of Knockanure by Gabriel Fitzmaurice (North Kerry Literary Trust , €15.00; can be ordered from the Kerry Writers’ Museum, info@kerrywritersmuseum.com, 24 The Square, Listowel, Co. Kerry V31 RD93) G.K. Chesterton once famously rhymed: “The great Gaels of Ireland are the men that…
The Irish Catholic Spring Legacy 2021 A Last Act of Mercy Through legacy donations Concern helps families in Africa and Asia move towards self-sufficiency and education, preparing them for shocks like the pandemic, Chai Brady hears Levels of extreme poverty have increased by 7% for the first time in 20 years due to the effects…
Chaplaincy work is “slower, but hasn’t stopped,” according to Fr John Kelly of Tallaght University Hospital following the recent cyberattack. The HSE’s IT systems were brought to a standstill last week following a “significant” ransomware attack. “Naturally, patients are anxious, but like the HSE we here in Tallaght University Hospital will be assuring patients that…
Ruadhán Jones
Peter Costello
Chai Brady