The Vatican’s liturgy czar has intervened against the implementation of resolutions of the German ‘Synodal Way’ that demand laypeople should be able to regularly baptise and preach the homily at Mass in churches across Germany. In a letter to the German Bishops’ Conference president dated March 29, Cardinal Arthur Roche said neither was possible –…
The Minister for Education has defended a divestment pilot scheme conducted jointly with the Irish bishops, which involves 63 schools. “The pilot covers 63 different schools and there is no doubt that it has reaped benefits in some areas,” Minister Norma Foley said in the Dáil. “The basis of the pilot is that everybody is…
Dear Editor, The Taoiseach’s defence of Catholic schools in the Dáil was a surprising and welcome occurrence [The Irish Catholic – March 23, 2023]. What’s rare is wonderful and when the leader of the Fine Gael, a party that has not exactly been kind to Catholic schools, says something like that, that’s something to note.…
Through our relationship with Jesus, we too can make a difference in our world, our community and our homes, writes Fr Barry Matthews When we think of the Holy Land many of us have a romantic and somewhat nostalgic notion about the stories that we know so well from the Bible. On our recent pilgrimage…
Jem Sullivan The discovery of the empty tomb is the biblical record of the historical event: Jesus’ bodily resurrection. No witnesses saw Jesus as he arose from the dead. But what they did see was Jesus’ passion, crucifixion, and the empty tomb. So, how did the disciples come to believe that God raised Jesus…
Pope Francis has appointed a key expert on Catholic education as the new Bishop of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise. Meath priest Fr Paul Connell is currently executive secretary for education for the bishops’ conference based in Maynooth. He has served on the staff of St Finian’s College since 1982, and was appointed president and principal there…
Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, SJ, the archbishop of Luxembourg and a key leader of the Synod on Synodality, said the Catholic Church’s teaching on a male-only priesthood is not infallible and a future pope could allow women priests. The cardinal, 64, addressed the topic of the ordination of women, homosexuality, women in the Church, obedience to…
Pope Francis has said that gender ideology is “one of the most dangerous ideological colonisations” today. In an interview with journalist Elisabetta Piqué for the Argentine daily newspaper La Nación, Pope Francis explained the reasoning behind his strong statement. “Gender ideology, today, is one of the most dangerous ideological colonisations,” Francis said in the interview…
Bishop Robert Reed Perhaps you’re like me – I just love Christmas and though the liturgical calendar moves on as it must, I’m always sad to see it go. Like the reformed Ebenezer Scrooge, I try to hang on to it for as long as I can – the birth of the humble baby, told…
Justin McLellan Many of the 40 international trips Pope Francis has made over the past 10 years have been to countries where Christians are a minority or where he can draw close to people on the fringes of the world’s attention. The Pope always “chooses the peripheries”, said Andrea Tornielli, editorial director of the Vatican…