Chai Brady, Brandon Scott, Renata Milan Morales, Renata Steffens The number of men entering formal seminary studies for dioceses around the country has reached 16 this year, according to figures compiled by The Irish Catholic The number of priests entering seminary hit an all-time low in 2021 with just six men putting themselves forward but…
Sports legends and Eurovision’s Dana will share their faith stories at Belfast’s 21st annual Rosary festival next month. The week-long festival will include famed GAA manager Mickey Harte and former professional footballer turned friar Fr Philip Mulryne – who played for Manchester United and Norwich. Running from October 5-13, it begins with a camino walk from St…
Young people from Armagh have joined Archbishop Eamon Martin, Anglican Archbishop John McDowell, and other pilgrims in the Walk for Peace, Healing, and Wellbeing as part of the Armagh leg of the Columbanus Walk. This pilgrimage, which started at Mount Leinster in Co. Carlow, will conclude in Bangor, Co. Down, on September 21, 2024, marking…
While many Catholic leaders in Nigeria are concerned about the influence of Pentecostalism, Catholics in the southeastern parts of the country are concerned about another trend. In rural parts of the West African country, the number of young people participating in Sunday Mass has plummeted and continues to fall as many of them turn to…
A self-professed Catholic bishop and primate, who was ordained to the priesthood by the excommunicated Zambian Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo in 2009, and who’s built a following in part on the basis of performing exorcisms, has been denounced by both the dioceses of Fatima and Rome as a fraud. Self-professed Bishop Salvatore Micalef, born in a…
Pope Francis has united two Welsh dioceses to create the new Metropolitan Archdiocese of Cardiff-Menevia, the Vatican announced September 12, the feast of the Holy Name of Mary. Archbishop Mark O’Toole, who will lead the newly formed archdiocese, emphasised the significance of this date in a pastoral letter on the unification. “We are immensely grateful to Pope…
A new poll by Pew Research Centre shows a slim majority of US Catholics intending to cast their ballot for former president Donald Trump in November, with Trump and Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala Harris in a dead heat among the entire electorate as the election contest enters its final weeks. The poll, released last week, found…
The acclaimed Irish spiritual writer of the twentieth century, Blessed Columba Marmion, once wrote in a letter to a missionary nun in the tropics: “All that God does for us proceeds from His mercy. God builds an eternal monument to His mercy in Heaven. The stones of this monument are the miserable who draw down…
Letter of the week Holding RTÉ accountable for lack of fairness Dear Editor, The article highlighting the anti-Catholic bias at RTÉ brings to the forefront an issue that has been ignored for too long [The Irish Catholic – September 5, 2024]. The broadcaster’s recent programme, ‘Farmed Out’, presents yet another example of how Catholic institutions…
The Scoping Inquiry into Historical Sexual Abuse in Schools run by Religious Orders has rightly generated a response of revulsion at the horrific acts perpetrated across the country. The inquiry reveals abuse on a large scale. No amount of context can mask the fact that 2,395 allegations of abuse have been made across 308 schools…