Fr Shay Cullen The shocking testimonies of 2,300 victim-survivors of childhood physical, psychological and sexual abuse representing 200,000 children that suffered in government care centres and Church orphanages and institutions over the past 70 years have just been released in a New Zealand report that took six years to compile. The investigative report, Abuse in…
The Pope issued a letter in eight languages saying that reading novels and poems is valuable and should be encouraged in the training of priests, and he reveals his own love of tragic stories I had originally chosen to give this Letter a title referring to priestly formation. On further reflection, however, this subject also…
UK Christian groups are worried about escalating numbers of problem gamblers following the Euro 24 football tournament. GamCare, which runs the National Gambling Helpline, recorded a 10 per cent rise in calls after this year’s tournament compared to 2021. London Catholic priest and sports chaplain Fr Vlad Felzmann warned of the destructive power of gambling…
A leading Catholic research institute has warned that legalising assisted suicide in England would put an “extra burden” on sick and disabled people. Lord Falconer has attempted to introduce legislation to change the law on assisted suicide for the seventh time through a new Bill, which has been introduced in the House of Lords. The…
Kate Quiñones A United Kingdom high court judge upheld the British government’s emergency ban on puberty blockers for minors on Monday, finding the blockers carry “very substantial risks and very narrow benefit”. Advocacy group TransActual challenged the UK’s ban along with a 15-year-old who remains unnamed due to a court order. Justice Beverly Lang cited…
The St Vincent de Paul Society (SVP) in England and Wales is calling on the new Labour Government to take urgent action to tackle poverty. The call comes as new statistics show that, at St Vincent’s centre in Newcastle, the need for their services has almost doubled, from supporting 4,968 people last year to a…
We each have a purpose given to us, writes Katie Fillion I was recently attending a formation course for catechists aimed at working with children between 6-9 years old. One theme that we focused on was the child’s growing capacity for understanding time and history. In the same way that they can remember events from…
Dean Céitinn Following his election as Green Party leader, Roderic O’Gorman has signalled his intention to bring the Hate Speech Bill back into the legislative agenda. This was after months of speculation that the Hate Speech Bill would not proceed and die when this Dáil completed its term. However, renewed calls to proceed with the…
Eduardo Campos Lima An unprecedented wave of violence in Sierra Madre de Chiapas, the mountain region in the southern border of Mexico, has been causing deaths and famine among several communities. Earlier last week, hundreds of people fled to Guatemala. The Diocese of Tapachula, which includes parishes in the mountain communities caught in the middle…
Matt Letourneau “Listen carefully, my son, to the master’s instructions, and attend to them with the ear of your heart,” the first line of St Benedict’s Rule commands. Listening can be virtuous, but how can you hear God’s soft melody over modern life’s constant clamour? For Cistercian monks, the answer is straightforward: build a colossal…