Women affected by rape are due to share their stories at public meetings next week, to explain why they believe abortion is not the answer when a child is conceived in rape. Unbroken Ireland, an initiative which gives a voice to those impacted by pregnancy after rape, is hosting the events in Dublin and Cork.…
Welcoming a new baby into the world is a wonderful and exciting time. However, the challenges of impending parenthood can turn the lives couples lead upside down, especially first-time parents who don’t really know what to expect. The good news is that you have nine months to read, research, make decisions, prepare and stock up…
Cold water has been poured on the idea that Catholics might have to endure another English translation of the Mass, just six years after the last change, following an amendment to Canon Law by Pope Francis. The new law, Magnum principium, was issued on Saturday and is seen as an example of the Pope following…
Bishop Kevin Doran has condemned the “inhumane” living conditions of asylum seekers in the direct provision system, comparing them to prisoners out on day release. Bishop Doran, who is a member of the Council for Justice and Peace of the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference, said the processing of asylum applications “remains unacceptably slow”, and the…
The Archbishop of Dublin has hit out at the overly negative portrayal of Church bodies in caring for the sick in the past. In his homily for a Mass to conclude the Dublin diocesan pilgrimage of over 2,000 people to the Marian shrine at Lourdes, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin acknowledged that “Church organisations made mistakes and…
The Catholic community in Co. Donegal has rallied behind its Protestant neighbours after it was discovered that the HSE plans to axe a CofI hospital chapel. Fr John Joe Duffy of the Church of Mary the Immaculate in Stranorlar, and chair of ‘Save our St Joseph’s’, told The Irish Catholic that his parishioners were “horrified and embarrassed”…
Politicians have a responsibility to protect the most vulnerable above their own sectoral interests, the Bishop of Derry has said. “It is the task of political leaders to promote the common good and not just sectoral interests or popular causes,” Bishop Donal McKeown said. “We expect our leaders to be wise and not just street wise.…
Donations to Trócaire’s emergency response in East Africa has raised €2.4m so far, with about half that amount coming from a church collection in parishes nationwide. Funds from the parish collection, which was sanctioned by the Irish Bishops’ Conference in late July, are continuing to come into the charity, and the total figure is expected…
The Society of St Vincent de Paul (SVP) has issued an appeal to commercial owners on Dublin’s northside for a retail unit to replace a charity shop destroyed by fire. The Vincent’s shop in Coolock Village Centre was engulfed in flames in the early hours of Monday morning, causing structural damage which will result in the…
The African Chaplaincy in the Archdiocese of Dublin celebrated its 10-year anniversary over the weekend with music, praise and worship. The celebrations began on Saturday with a choral night in Westmanstown Conference Centre, Blanchardstown which featured praise and worship full of African flavour, in thanksgiving for the life of the chaplaincy in the Irish Church.…