This year, the National Ploughing Championships, located in the Diocese of Kildare & Leighlin, will take place from September 17-19 in Ratheniska, Portlaoise, Co. Laois. The diocese will be represented in stand 221 and will highlight the suffering of victims in war torn areas such as Gaza and Ukraine. In the stand, the visitors will be…
The Maori people, the Indigenous population of mainland New Zealand, have crowned a new queen after the death of their king — and she’s Catholic. King Tuheitia Potatau Te Wherowhero VII died on August 30 at the age of 69. His death came days after his 18th anniversary as king of the Kingitanga, also known as…
The historic Church of the Immaculate Conception in Saint-Omer, in the Pas-de-Calais department of northern France, was ravaged by arson on the night of September 2. The suspect, a multi-recidivist who has attempted to set fire to numerous places of worship in the past, was apprehended a few hours after the blaze was brought under…
Public meetings are set to take place in Strokestown, Athlone and Castlerea from next week to discuss the amalgamation of two local dioceses, the Diocese of Elphin and the Diocese of Achonry. It was announced in April the Dioceses of Elphin and Achonry would merge, in a major reorganisation of the Catholic Church, spearheaded by…
The exodus of Iraqi Christians from their ancestral homeland is once again making headlines. Many families are fleeing the country, seeking refuge in neighbouring nations as a temporary stopover before heading to distant destinations such as Australia. Some believe this new wave of emigration began in late 2023 following a tragic fire in Bakhdida in northern Iraq.…
The Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly has recently commenced a lay funeral ministry initiative, which hopes to equip lay parishioners with the necessary skills to undertake a wide range of roles during funerals in the archdiocese. Speaking to The Irish Catholic in the aftermath of the archdiocese’s invitation to parishioners who are interested in the…
Our readers are likely, by now, to be familiar with the offensive, and some may say, racist, section in a Junior Certificate textbook that depicted a ‘traditional’ Irish family as a plastic Paddy-type trope in contrast to a multi-cultural uber-progressive family. The publishers, EdCo – the Educational Company of Ireland – has apologised for this…
“This year, in homage and gratitude to you, I am going to decree that the Christmas season [begins] on October 1,” declared Nicolás Maduro, leader of the ruling socialist regime in Venezuela, September 2 on national television. “For everyone, Christmas has arrived with peace, happiness, and security,” Maduro added. According to the Spanish newspaper El Mundo,…
Letter of the week Left with uncompromising ideologies… Dear Editor, I find it disturbing that a Junior Cert school book presenting a course that aims at promoting inclusion, has had a cartoon and write-up depicting traditional Irish families as boring, wearing Aran jumpers, red heads, knowing nothing of the world outside their immediate surroundings or…
Pope Francis arrived in the Indonesian capital Jakarta on Tuesday, kicking off the longest and farthest trip of his tenure to the Asia Pacific region. He is expected to highlight environmental concerns and the importance of interfaith dialogue during the 12 day trip, which will also see him travel to Papua New Guinea, Singapore and Timor-Leste –…