Catholics in Honduras prayed for the victims of a horrific massacre in a women’s prison – an attack underscoring the power of the country’s criminal gangs and their control over correctional facilities. Many Catholic clergy expressed outrage while demanding an overhaul of the country’s prison system. “Tragedy repeats itself,” tweeted Bishop Ángel Garachana of San…
Emily Stimpson Chapman In Rome, the churches are legion. Little parishes and great basilicas alike meet travellers on every block of the ancient city, their facades mingling with shops and restaurants, apartments and ancient ruins. Although unique visions of beauty and faith greet all those who cross the thresholds of these churches, on the outside precious few…
The fact that RTÉ concealed additional payments to broadcaster, Ryan Tubridy, to the tune of €345,000 will undermine confidence still further in the public service broadcaster. In a disturbing article in the Sunday Independent, an anonymous whistleblower claims that Mr Tubridy’s salary is just the tip of the iceberg. Apparently, it is a dirty little…
More than half of the global population lives in a country in which state or non-state actors actively persecute people for their religious beliefs, according to the 2023 Religious Freedom in the World report. Aid to the Church in Need, a Catholic charity, published the report, which put 28 countries in the “red” category for…
US firm PublicSq recently announced that it will offer employees a bonus if they have a baby or adopt a child. This comes as a number of companies in the US continue to pay their employees time off or travel expenses to get an abortion in the wake of last year’s overturning of Roe v.…
The real world that we experience firsthand and every day is a real setting in which faith really is meant to take form and grow. But does our firsthand acquaintance with our real world leave us wondering how it possibly could serve as an authentic faith environment? Think about it. Does your real world bear a full share of…
The Oireachtas Special Committee on ‘Assisted Dying’ last week consulted three constitutional experts who attempted to shed light on whether or not the Oireachtas has the ability to introduce legislation that would see assisted suicide and/or euthanasia in Ireland. Dr Tom Hickey, Assistant Professor of Constitutional law at Dublin City University (DCU), told the committee…
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said he will speak with Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega about releasing a jailed Nicaraguan bishop currently serving a 26-year prison sentence. Speaking to reporters in Rome June 22, a day after meeting with Pope Francis, the Brazilian president, commonly referred to as Lula, said there is “no reason…
An Irish judge has noted as a sign of a lack of remorse the fact that a man guilty of the manslaughter of his elderly aunt neglected to say the act of contrition in her ear as she lay dying. 59-year-old farmer Michael Scott of Portumna in Co. Galway has been jailed for six years…
Saint of the week Arguably the most famous of the Church’s saints on June 29 we celebrate the feast of Sts Peter and Paul. Their influence permeates the entire Church and the world – Peter being the ‘rock’ upon which Christ chose to build his Church, Paul’s letters of guidance and encouragement being read out…
Breda O'Brien