Archbishop Michael Neary has appealed to priests not to lose heart, despite the fact that their pastoral ministry has been curtailed by Covid-19 restrictions. Speaking as the Tuam priests gathered for their delayed Chrism Mass, Dr Neary insisted that “to lose heart would be to forget the treasure with which we have been entrusted and…
Fr Ignatius McQuillan, who secretly played for Fermanagh after his ordination, has died aged 90. Fr Iggy – as he was known – was a county footballer at the time of his ordination in 1955. As was customary at the time, he was asked to cease his career, but he continued playing under the name…
The Church must reach out and be prepared to be more of a community than a building, writes Dr Gladys Ganiel Archbishop of Dublin Dermot Farrell has made headlines with his assertion that “evidence of Christian belief in Ireland today has for all intents and purposes vanished”. Dr Farrell made the comments in an interview…
If we think we can make the world a better place, standing on the side-lines is not an option, writes David Quinn In the science fiction series, Star Trek, there is something called the ‘Prime Directive’. It instructs that no contact should be made with another civilisation until it has reached a certain level of…
NET Ministries is looking forward to a return to “face-to-face” mission following a year of limited in-person missionary work, according to Executive Director of NET Ministries Ireland, Tony Foy. Speaking to The Irish Catholic, Mr Foy said the coming mission year is a “different approach to last year”, but that they’re equally eager to get…
Afghanistan’s terrified Christians are bracing for a new round of persecution in the wake of the Taliban’s takeover of the country, Christian leaders and aid organisations warn. “We are telling people to stay in their houses because going out now is too dangerous,” one Afghani Christian leader told the aid organisation International Christian Concern (ICC.)…
Promoting a truth recovery process without fear of prosecution would provide information to the many unanswered questions of victims and their families in the North, writes Fr Aloysius G. Lumala The role of the Church in peace-making and reconciliation is based on the fact that social and political disturbances in society contradict the most fundamental…
Senator Rónán Mullen sent a letter to Maynooth’s president, questioning the ethics of their collaboration on a survey about “anti-choice protests”. The university is collaborating with Together for Safety, a pro-abortion lobby group who are gathering information on “protests” outside abortion facilities. Mr Mullen called the group’s survey the “antithesis of objective academic research”. He…
Brian Devlin’s experience of Cardinal Keith O’Brien’s abuse of power is prompting his calls for reform and renewal in the Church, writes Jason Osborne Faithful Catholics today are weary and browbeaten following the revelations in recent years of the deep rot of abuse that took place at the heart of parishes and dioceses around the…
Caritas Pakistan has alerted its diocesan units bordering neighbouring Afghanistan to help refugees fleeing the Taliban’s takeover of the country, reported ucanews.com. Thousands of Afghans have entered Pakistan via the Chaman border crossing, one of the most active trade and travel routes between the countries, according to media reports. However, Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad…
David Quinn
Ruadhán Jones