Former Republic of Ireland football star on what it meant to be part of the first pilgrimage to the Holy Land since the pandemic.
Month: February 2022
Schools ‘resent’ president’s attack on parents’ education choice
Ruadhán Jones
Bishop Donal McKeown has accused President Michael D. Higgins of stoking division over “unhelpful” comments from the president characterising Catholic schools in the North as sectarian. During an event on the role of women in peace-building, Mr Higgins described as “shameful” the fact that parental choice is central to education in the North and that…
Warm Holy Land welcome for first Irish pilgrims
Chai Brady
Chai Brady in Jerusalem A group of pilgrims with The Irish Catholic have become the first Irish visitors to the Holy Land since the beginning of the pandemic. Some 40 people left Dublin Airport on Wednesday under the auspices of Marian Pilgrimages for the trip to the Holy Land for the first time since Covid-19…
Time is right for parishes to embrace renewable energy, Trócaire says
As energy costs rise and the climate crisis “stares us in the face”, the time is right for parishes in Ireland to embrace solar energy, Trócaire have said. Jane Mellett, Laudato Si’ officer for the Irish bishops’ official overseas development agency, told The Irish Catholic that “it just seems time” to look at new energy…
Archbishop Eamon criticises private religion in Oxford debate
Archbishop of Armagh Eamon Martin said during a recent Oxford Union debate that private religion is “primarily a religion of sentiment” and quoted St Cardinal John Henry Newman that “we must of necessity ignore it”. Opposing the motion February 17 “This House would move beyond organised religion,” Archbishop Martin said that once the aspects of…
Down and Connor ordains six new permanent deacons
Staff Reporter Bishop of Down and Connor Noel Treanor ordained six new permanent deacons for the diocese on Saturday, calling on them to “incentivise concrete care for all” through their service. Kieran Hunt, Ricky Looney, Jackie Breen, Mark Leneghan, John Downey and Paddy Keown were all ordained in a ceremony at St Peter’s Cathedral, Belfast,…
Boffin says it’s goodbye to the handshake tradition
Mary Kenny
I thought that the “handshake of peace”, which we used to exchange in pre-Covid times, was a lovely gesture during Mass. It was friendly, linking people together, and an expression of community. It was also egalitarian. You shook hands with whoever happened to be next to you in the pew, and, in busy city churches,…
Mickey Rourke to feature in eastern saint movie
Hollywood legend Mickey Rourke is set to feature in Man of God, an upcoming movie about wonder-working eastern saint, St Nektarios of Aegina. The movie is currently being filmed in Greece and is to be released later this year. Mr Rourke has taken on the role of a paralysed man who was healed in hospital…
Cardinal Becciu calls finance probe ‘blitz’ attack
Cardinal Angelo Becciu, former prefect of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes, lambasted a recent financial probe that opened in his native Sardinia. According to a February 15 report by Italian news agency ANSA, Italian finance authorities conducted several raids on individuals connected with Cardinal Becciu. The raids took place in Rome and in the Sardinian towns of…
Iconic Cork church structure damaged by storm Franklin
The “iconic” 15-foot cross on the roof of the Church of the Ascension in Gurranabraher, Cork, has been left tilted by high winds associated with storm Franklin on Sunday. Masses were temporarily postponed and have since restarted, but parish priest Fr Tom Walsh said that, after Covid, it feels like “one disaster after another”. “It’s…