The cause for canonisation of Argentine businessman Enrique Shaw took another step forward this week as the alleged miracle attributed to his intercession passed the medical stage and will now be evaluated by a commission of theologians of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints. The vice postulator of the cause and the military bishop…
An ongoing row over the closure of the Franciscan Friary in Clonmel shows little sign of a resolution as TD for Tipperary South Mattie McGrath says he’s going to Dublin to confront the Provincial of the Franciscan Order whom he claims has ignored his correspondence. Recent developments have seen aggrieved members of a prayer group…
US President Joe Biden spoke with Pope Francis last Saturday and named him a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom with distinction, the White House said in a statement. As the nation’s highest honour, the medal is “presented to individuals who have made exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values, or security of the United States,…
The Black Nazarene procession in Manila, Philippines, which annually attracts one of the world’s largest crowds for a religious devotion, attracted hundreds of thousands of enthusiastic pilgrims on January 9. Taking place each year in January, the procession, known locally as “Traslacion”, sees devotees carry across Manila a replica of a famous life-size statue of Jesus carrying a…
Archdiocesan officials and local Church leaders in Los Angeles are working to shelter and assist victims of the ongoing wildfires there as the blaze consumes entire neighbourhoods and lays waste to significant portions of the suburban area. The fires began on Tuesday, January 7, and quickly spread via dry conditions and hurricane-force Santa Ana winds…
The decision to end The Priests, one of Ireland’s most successful musical acts of the last decade is a “bittersweet” one that wasn’t taken lightly according to a member of the trio, who finds solace that even in the group’s retirement, their “music and CDs are still there and will always be available” to encourage…
A Dublin parish that has recently “taken the plunge” and made the move to solar has hailed the move to more sustainable practices not only for the practical energy and cost reduction benefits, but also because they’re directly responding to the call of the Pope and seeing it as their Christian duty. Speaking to The…
An Irish Dominican nun, described as an “educational pioneer” and “award-winning filmmaker” has died at the age of 106. Sr Maureen MacMahon joined the Irish Congregation of Dominican Sisters in 1936 and went on to innovate in both educational and filmmaking realms. Commenting after Sr MacMahon’s death, Fr Conor McDonough OP said that the nun…
The canonisation of 16 Catholic women, martyred during the French Revolution, has been described as “wonderful” by an Irish priest, who added that “of all of the martyrs of the French Revolution, the 16 sisters of the Carmel of Compiègne are iconic”. Fr John Hogan, a priest of the Diocese of Meath and Postulator for the…
Following an event in a Dublin parish where a speaker who identified as transgender addressed the congregation during an ‘LGBTQIA+ Christmas Carol Service’, a leading academic on Catholic sexual ethics has said the issue is “complicated” and that parishes should refer to the Church’s recently published document on human dignity if unsure how to approach…