A call for Catholics to go to Confession if they had voted to allow abortion in Ireland last year was an attempt at bringing healing to Irish society, Elphin’s Bishop Kevin Doran has said. Speaking at the opening Mass of the MaterCare international medical conference in Rome, Bishop Doran told a congregation of health care…
Two Irish clerics have been asked to take part in the Vatican’s upcoming Synod of Bishops on the Amazon. A Kiltegan Father originally from Monkstown, Co. Dublin, Bishop Derek Byrne of Primavera do Leste-Paranatinga in Brazil will join Fr Peter Hughes, a Galway-born and Columban Father who works for CELAM, the Latin American episcopal conference,…
Free primary school education has largely become a myth in modern Ireland, the head of the Catholic Primary Schools Management Association has said. Speaking to The Irish Catholic, Seamus Mulconry said that “in primary schools, free education is substantially a myth”. He said his social media observation that the State was, in practice, ignoring its…
A prominent Northern priest has spoken of being moved by “an incredible response” after he revealed that the holy oil container he had used since his ordination was stolen over the weekend. Speaking to The Irish Catholic, Passionist Fr Gary Donegan, who became a household name when helping shield schoolchildren from loyalist mobs during 2001’s…
Clarity and honesty are urgently needed around Ireland’s low vocation numbers, writes Greg Daly “Fifteen seminarians have begun their formation and academic programme for 2019 – 2020,” began the press release last week from the Catholic Communications Office (CCO) in Maynooth. “The new students are currently in formation in Saint Patrick’s College, Maynooth and…
A top Vatican cardinal is to address Irish religious next month on the Church’s missionary role in the wider world. Ghanaian Cardinal Peter Turkson, the first head of the Holy See’s new ‘super-dicastery’, the Office for Promoting Integral Human Development, will speak on the theme of ‘Mission Today in Our Common Home’ at the Autumn…
Ireland’s parents and principals are struggling to keep primary schools afloat, writes Greg Daly If there’s a silver lining in the Government’s banning oversubscribed schools owned by Catholic parishes from selecting on the basis of religion, it’s that it removed another distraction from the real story in Irish primary education, which is that the…
There was a brief golden period early in Francis’ papacy when mainstream media looked to be trying hard to report on Catholic matters in a genuinely informed and informative way. Not in Ireland, of course, but in Boston, where John Allen was signed by bostonglobe.com and in New York, where Frank Rocca has been plying…
Parishioners need to be helped realise the strains clergy of all denominations face, a prominent Belfast priest has said. Speaking to The Irish Catholic ahead of a conference in Lisburn next month on ‘Pastoring the Pastor’, Fr Martin McGill said it’s vital to let people understand the challenges today’s clergy face. “We need to raise…
Kerry fans who want to watch the replay of the All-Ireland Football Final can attend vigil Mass early this Saturday. In a letter sent to priests across the diocese, Kerry’s Bishop Ray Browne said parishes could change the times of evening Masses to facilitate massgoers keen on watching the 6pm replay against Dublin. Vigil Masses…