Catholic youth group Pure in Heart has said that more than consent is desirable prior to sexual activity, in response to new research which revealed that many teenagers do not believe it is always necessary to gain consent before engaging in a sexual activity with someone. Speaking to The Irish Catholic newspaper, General Manager of…
Parishes in the Republic are expected to be able to have churches up to 50% full from next week. As The Irish Catholic went to press this week the Cabinet was poised to announce a further easing of restrictions on religious and other gatherings and permit a phased return to out-of-school activities for children. Sacraments…
The people of the Caribbean nation are barely hanging on, having suffered “one thing after the next” in the last decade, said a Haiti-based aid worker. Makayla Palazzo, an aid-worker for Concern US, told The Irish Catholic that the people are in “shock and disbelief” after the 7.2 magnitude earthquake, which killed over 2,200 people,…
The late Sr Ethel Normoyle was a “life and death figure” for the thousands of people she helped during her ministry in South Africa, according to Irish missionary Archbishop Liam Slattery OFM. The archbishop’s words come in the wake of Sr Normoyle’s recent death August 16, which has seen tributes pour in from both Ireland…
Three names are to the fore in clerical circles to take up one of the most senior positions in the Church in Ireland. Archbishop Michael Neary of Tuam turned 75 in April and therefore under Church rules was obliged to tender his resignation to Pope Francis. The papal nuncio Archbishop Jude Thaddeus Okolo is now…
An art display in Togher honouring Cork’s “unofficial patron saint” Little Nellie of Holy God serves to “remind us of our baptismal calling”, parishioners were told at the unveiling. Fr Ben Hodnett of Togher parish asked artist John Doolan to create 11 pictures of Little Nellie to celebrate the anniversary of her 118th birthday. He…
Ireland’s ambassador to the US has opened up about the role of Catholic education in his formation and his gratitude to the “great men” who taught him in the Christian Brothers’ school in Waterford. Ambassador Dan Mulhall was speaking at the Milwaukee Irish Festival addressing the question of the role of the Church in Irish…
The Faithful are called by both faith and science to take the climate crisis seriously, Archbishop of Dublin Dermot Farrell has said in a new pastoral letter issued on the climate crisis. Our lifestyles and economies that support them are contributing to climate change, Archbishop Farrell warned. “God now calls us, individually and collectively, to…
And so Irish fertility figures continue to fall: statistics just announced from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) disclose that there were more deaths than births in the first quarter of 2021. Pattern of decline Births were down by 476, a fall of 3.3% from the first three months of 2020. This is all part of a…
Irish-American Cardinal Raymond Burke has taken to social media to express his thanks to God, the healthcare professionals, and all those who cared for him spiritually during his time in ICU following a serious bout of Covid-19. The cardinal posted an open letter on his Twitter page, in which he thanked God, the doctors and…
Ruadhán Jones
Chai Brady
Mary Kenny