The Vatican on Tuesday released the working document for the much-anticipated synod to be held in Rome in October. Known in Latin as an instrumentum laboris, the 60-page document will guide the month-long Vatican summit on a number of themes and concerns that have emerged during a three-year consultative process, which has focused on how the Church…
People who take part in religious practices are less likely to get depression, see a slowing down of the ageing process and don’t die as early as people who don’t take part in religious services, according to one of Ireland’s leading authorities on ageing. Principal investigator of The Irish Longitudinal study on Ageing (TILDA), Prof. Rose Anne Kenny…
Mary Immaculate College has slammed what it describes as “unwarranted attempts” to influence the interview process for appointing a new head of theology. This post has been vacant since last summer. The college will not engage with any party making “unwarranted attempts” to seek information that might have the effect of “unduly influencing the course…
Calling on Catholics to pray for the victims of a stabbing at a local playground, French Bishop Yves Le Saux of Annecy said the horrific attack was an indication of growing societal violence. “This tragedy raises questions about the violence that runs through our society, and commits us to work even harder together to fight…
Catholic teaching on sexuality is not about oppression but “ultimate happiness” a barrister in the North of Ireland has said following a report by the NI Human Rights Commission (NIHCR) criticising the delivery of relationship and sex education (RSE) in schools. In the report the NIHCR noted that some schools were promoting abstinence before marriage as…
Charges and countercharges of illegal activity have further escalated a bitter public dispute between the Diocese of Fort Worth and a monastery of Carmelite nuns in Arlington, Texas. The latest salvo in what has become a protracted legal and public relations battle was launched by the diocese on June 7 when it released a pair…
Praying with God’s word will lead to the renewal of the Church, writes Stephen Binz The Bible is the “word of the Lord”: an inspired library of narrative, poetry, letters and literature that God has spoken to us, to benefit our lives. So why is it that many Catholics encounter Scripture only during the readings…
There was a “significant increase” in the number of historic abuse allegations made to the Church’s independent safeguarding watchdog last year. The National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland (NBSCCCI) said that many of the reports relate to alleged abuse in boarding schools run and managed by male and female religious,…
“I despise the Leaving Cert as an exam,” proclaims Ryan Tubridy. “I think it’s cruel and mean.” He says he despises the way that exams reduce books to bullet-points, while putting so much pressure on pupils and students. “There has to be a kinder way to test people’s knowledge.” Would it surprise Ryan to be…
The Irish Government is working to impose a new regime of censorship on its own people. Its proposed ‘hate speech’ legislation amounts to an unprecedented assault on the Irish people’s longstanding right to freedom of expression. Yet democracy simply cannot function if people cannot air their concerns freely, or express controversial opinions. Ms von der…
Michael Kelly
Ruadhán Jones
Chai Brady
Mary Kenny
Rory Fitzgerald