The verdict in the closely watched trial of a Finnish Christian MP was announced on Wednesday. A court in Helsinki dismissed all charges against Päivi Räsänen, a physician and mother of five, and Juhana Pohjola, a bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland, after a free speech trial that drew international attention. The court said in…
Former Ireland international and Birmingham City player Keith Fahey has urged young people to keep God at the centre of their lives and not to be sucked in by addiction or materialism. Speaking to The Irish Catholic, Mr Fahey – who was capped for the Republic of Ireland 16 times – said he was on…
The Covid-19 pandemic and restrictions devastated rural communities, leaving some towns lying empty and derelict, but parishes now say they are hopeful of a summer boost having “weathered the storm”. Fr John Joe Duffy of Creeslough, Co. Donegal, told The Irish Catholic “it’s tearing the heart out of rural communities to see them lying empty…
Staff reporter Controversial actor Will Smith, who was the recipient of the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in the biographical sports drama film King Richard, celebrated his first Oscar by saying that he was “overwhelmed” by what God was calling on him to do and be in this world during his acceptance…
Staff reporter Archbishop Dermot Farrell has criticised Russia’s Vladimir Putin as an “unjust aggressor” and warned that the crisis facing Europe with the invasion of Ukraine parallels the Second World War. The Archbishop of Dublin was speaking in Sacred Heart Church in Donnybrook as he led a solemn act of consecration of both Ukraine and…
Fianna Fáil TD Brendan Smith has criticised the uncertainty caused by “substantial delays” in processing applications for the minister of religion visa. The Cavan-Monaghan TD told The Irish Catholic that there are “substantial delays” and he knows from situations he has dealt with in his constituency it causes hardship on the person applying. “It does…
Staff reporter A Brazilian court has ruled that the construction of a giant, steel statue of the Virgin Mary can go ahead. Sao Paulo State’s Court of Appeals reversed the 2019 decision that halted the building of the project in Aparecida, the city of a major Catholic shrine in Brazil. The 164-foot sculpture portraying Our…
Mourners gathered for the funeral of journalist killed in Ukraine Pierre Zakrzewski were told that Pierre “understood the sacred” and it was this that compelled him to share the stories of others. Mr Zakrzewski was killed alongside Ukrainian journalist Oleksandra Kuvshynova when the vehicle they were travelling in was struck by incoming fire outside Kyiv,…
There were scenes of sorrow and healing among Ukrainian refugees who escaped the war during a Mass held in Lisdoonvarna, Co. Clare in conjunction with the Pope’s consecration of Russia and Ukraine. According to Fr Robert McNamara, the parish priest of Lisdoonvarna and Kilshanny, many of the refugees are finding “great sustenance” in their Christian…
The Chosen actor Jonathan Roumie is taking a break from portraying Christ to play one of Jesus’ more colourful proponents, “the legendary, enigmatic hippie street-preacher,” Lonnie Frisbee. Mr Frisbee was an American charismatic evangelist at work in the late 1960s and into the 1970s, and is regarded as a key figure in the “Jesus movement”…
Chai Brady
Ruadhán Jones