Carlos Medina, the husband of Los Angeles Auxiliary Bishop David O’Connell’s housekeeper, has admitted to murdering the bishop, the Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón has said. “He admitted that he had done the killing and we believe we recovered the weapon that they were using, and we have other evidence from the bed, certain…
Catholic leaders open church in UAE’s interfaith Abrahamic Family House
The three Abrahamic religions — Judaism, Christianity, and Islam — now share a common place to worship in the predominantly Muslim United Arab Emirates with the opening of the Abrahamic Family House in Abu Dhabi. Such was the dream of Pope Francis and Grand Imam Ahmed Al-Tayeb, who in 2019 signed a historic pledge calling…
Sidelights on the Skelligs I
An excerpt from Patrick Weston Joyce, English as We Speak it in Ireland (London: Longmans, Green and Co., 1910), pages 324-325. In his essay on the “Skellig Lists” in Irish folk life contributor Shane Lehane overlooks this interesting and important notice of the custom by the Victorian scholar of all things Irish, Patrick Weston…
In Brief
Petition for release of Nicaraguan bishop given to embassy in Mexico The Actívate and Solidart platforms have delivered a petition with 11,000 signatures to the Nicaraguan embassy in Mexico City condemning the human rights violations committed by dictator President Daniel Ortega and demanding the release of the Bishop of Matagalpa, Rolando Álvarez. Members of both…
Is the synod a con job?
Dear Editor, I have only recently become familiar, via a conversation with one of my granddaughters, with the concept of gaslighting. Gaslighting is characterised as a form of psychological manipulation in which a dominant party attempts to sow self-doubt and confusion in the mind of someone else. Typically, gaslighters are seeking to gain power and…
In Short
Prayers for peace needed this Lent – Archbishop Martin Prayers, charity and sacrifice for peace and refugees are needed this Lent, Archbishop Eamon Martin said on Ash Wednesday, February 22. The world has experienced death and suffering on a large scale in the last year, the Primate of All-Ireland said in a statement. “I encourage…
Vatican Roundup
Newly-discovered asteroid named after a pope The Vatican Observatory announced the naming of four newly-discovered asteroids after notable Catholics, including Pope Gregory XIII, who began the tradition of papal astronomers and observatories. Christopher Graney, a scientist at the Vatican Observatory, said in a press release that the Working Group for Small Bodies Nomenclature (WGSBN) of…
Bishops praise ‘frank’ European synodal assembly
As the European synodal assembly closed on Sunday, the gathered bishops praised the “frank” and respectful dialogue between bishops, priests, consecrated and lay men and women. Archbishop of Armagh Eamon Martin along with 13 other delegates from the island of Ireland attended the European assembly from February 5-12. In their final remarks released on February…
Call for Northern Ireland Churches to join fight against exclusion zones
With the law to create exclusion zones around abortion clinics receiving Royal Assent February 6, pro-lifers have vowed not to take the measure “lying down”. This comes after a priest in England faced criminal charges for praying for free speech outside an abortion clinic after business hours. At least two others have faced charges for…
Nicaraguan bishop sentenced to 26 years in prison by Ortega regime
Bishop Rolando Álvarez of Matagalpa was convicted and sentenced by a Nicaraguan court to 26 years in prison on February 10 – barely a day after the outspoken prelate defied President Daniel Ortega by refusing to go into exile. The court convicted Bishop Álvarez on charges of conspiracy to undermine national integrity and spreading false…