The recently appointed auxiliary Bishop of Dublin Paul Dempsey is to chair a group responsible for the pastoral renewal of Dublin City Centre, which will see two churches upgraded to Cathedral (St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral) and Minor Basilica status (St Andrew’s Westland Row) if approved by Rome. Substantial financial support is believed to be forthcoming for…
The Irish Church can learn from parishes in America who are responding to the housing crisis by opening unused rectories to Catholics according to a leading Irish ministry leader and speaker based in California. “They’re starting to lease those to elderly communities, so the elderly can have assisted living communities. Or in my locality, a…
The new Bishop of Down and Connor has celebrated Mass at the place where St Patrick landed in Ireland almost 1600 years ago. Bishop Alan McGuckian chose to go to Slieve Patrick, also known as Saul Mountain, Co. Down, to celebrate the feast of Corpus Christi and Day 4 of his new novena to the…
The Irish priest who heads up Vatican investigations into allegations of abuse has said he’d like to see more transparency in dealing with victims and their families. “If I had a child who was abused by a priest, I would want to know the status of the case.” “It’s a question that’s discussed in the…
O’Connell Street is surely Ireland’s best-known thoroughfare, named after ‘The Liberator’, Daniel O’Connell just a hundred years ago, in 1924. How interesting to learn, from Christine Casey’s peerless architectural survey of Dublin, that the city Corporation had voted to change the name of Sackville Street 40 years previously, in 1884, but the local residents objected.…
‘Pockets of Ireland are on fire with the faith’ according to a youth minister in the Diocese of Raphoe (Donegal). Speaking to The Irish Catholic Keith Kelly praises the enthusiasm of young people in the Raphoe Diocese. He sees this as characteristic of young people in the Catholic Church across the world also: ‘‘Young people…
A Christian man attacked in Pakistan on May 25 died in the hospital on Monday, causing a leading bishop to call for stronger protection of religious minorities in the Muslim nation. According to local observers, hundreds of Muslims took part in the mob violence in Sargodha, Pakistan, located in the Punjab province, in May. The…
Roman Cabay To those who knew me then, the idea of my conversion was an absurd prospect. I was raised non-denominationally protestant, variously attending Anglican and Methodist services as well as Sunday school. Church, to me, was an interminable lecture where I fruitlessly attempted to achieve apostasy. Faith was a private certainty of my damnation…
In Ireland, Catholic youth groups are experiencing a resurgence, drawing hundreds of young people to faith-based activities and community service.
Knock and the door shall be opened to you!” is an oft-quoted scripture. But it can be a tricky process for candidates seeking a vote at election time. An old politician’s trick, to avoid unpleasantness, was to hang back on the footpath while canvassers knocked the door. Years ago, I heard a story from a…
Martina Purdy
Mary Kenny