Month: July 2022

Signs point to papal visit to Ukraine

Although the idea of a papal visit to Ukraine was in the air even before the February Russian invasion, it wasn’t until this week that several figures in the know began speaking of a “realistic” possibility that Pope Francis may travel to Kyiv before the summer ends. In an interview, Pope Francis said that the…

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Italian journalist who helped shape Francis narrative dies

Eugenio Scalfari, a highly acclaimed journalist who helped found Italy’s Radical Party and its most widely-read leftist newspaper, who also made waves throughout the Catholic world for his eyebrow-raising and often questionable conversations with Pope Francis, has died aged 98. Mr Scalfari is widely regarded as one of the most acclaimed Italian journalists of the…

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Campaigners want porn taught in school

Maybe teaching children something about pornography is inevitable and necessary, writes David Quinn Pornography will now be studied as part of a new Relationships and Sexuality Education programme to the taught at Junior Certificate level in the country’s secondary schools. That is the latest diktat from the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) that…

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Carlow College offered to State with ‘no strings attached’

Staff reporter Catholic third level institute Carlow College has been offered to the State with “no strings attached”, An Taoiseach Micheál Martin said in the Dáil. Mr Martin, responding to questions from TDs about the Church’s involvement in education, said the “issue of the role of the Church within education” has “evolved significantly”. He cited…

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Beating the heat this summer

Europe has been wracked by heatwaves this summer, and while we’ve largely had the opposite problem, keeping your head when the heat comes is key, writes Jason Osborne Much of the continent has been subjected to scorching sun this summer, with wide swathes of Italy, Spain, Germany, Poland and more consistently visiting the 30’s and…

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Indian cardinal cleared over real estate deals

A cardinal who leads India’s Syro-Malabar Church has been cleared by his state government of charges of wrongdoing related to real estate deals estimated to have resulted in losses of around $10 million. The financial controversy led to protests from some of his own clergy and laity, and his temporary loss of administrative authority by…

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Poor Clares Galway chapel reopens after renovations

Staff reporter The chapel in the Poor Clares’ convent in Galway has been reopened to the public after “badly needed” repairs to nearby buildings. The roof of some of the convent buildings was “badly in need of repair with rain coming through the ceilings of the top floor bedrooms”, the order said in a statement.…

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Latest row at Academy for Life raises questions of purpose

A new publication by the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy for Life has drawn criticism over contributions from some theologians arguing for a distinction between moral norms, such as the Church’s condemnation of artificial birth control, and the pastoral application of those norms in concrete circumstances. Basically, the suggestion seemed to be that in some limited circumstances,…

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Family news

Free mental health services ‘vital’ with rising cost of living Turn2Me, a national mental health charity, has stated that free mental health services are absolutely vital, now more than ever, with the rising costs of living. The charity stated an increased number of users reported feeling anxious about the rising cost of living, and that…

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