Senator Ronan Mullen has asked why the mainstream media doesn’t ask politicans who complain they were refused Communion hard questions. “And, as a matter of asking the hard questions of all sides, shouldn’t politicians complaining about access to the sacraments be asked about whether their support for abortion puts them at odds with the demands…
Rev. Ruth Patterson, Director of Restoration Ministries has been elected a Member of the Royal Irish Academy, and on May 24, along with twenty-seven other newly elected members, was formally admitted to the Academy. Her citation reads as follows: “Ruth Patterson, the first woman to be ordained in Ireland, is director of Restoration Ministries, an…
A Mass Pit and the Faith of Our Fathers Dear Editor, I was surprised when I read Mary Kenny’s statement saying that she didn’t know when she last heard the hymn ‘Faith of Our Fathers’ played in an Irish church. In our parish ‘Faith of Our Fathers’ is sung every year at Mass on St…
On July 13, a protest to demand the continuation of the ‘Dublin City Centre Transport Plan’, took place in front of Brown Thomas on Grafton Street, Dublin, with participants including the Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice (JCFJ). Kevin Hargaden, Social Theologian and Director of JCFJ, voiced strong support for the new plan, emphasising its…
The Knights of Columbus announced last week it will cover mosaics by the accused abuser Fr Marko Rupnik in Washington, DC, and Connecticut, a dramatic move that represents the strongest public stand yet by a major Catholic organisation regarding the former Jesuit’s embattled art. The 2.1-million-member lay Catholic fraternal order said July 11 it would…
The issue of Catholic politicians and the Eucharist is once again in the headlines this week, after Fine Gael TD Colm Burke expressed surprise that he was refused Holy Communion by a priest at a recent funeral Mass in Co. Cork. According to reports, the priest went further and told Mr Burke that he was,…
Nigerian priest Fr Mikah Suleiman was released last Sunday after more than two weeks in captivity. The parish priest of St Raymond’s Catholic Church, in Damba, Zamfara State, had been abducted from his presbytery in Sokoto diocese, north-west Nigeria, in the early hours of Saturday, June 22. In the days that followed, fears for his…
Matt Letourneau My mom always told me that when you want to experience a city’s culture, you should always start by visiting its cathedrals. When picturing a cathedral, you may imagine the skyscraping towers of Notre-Dame or the grandiose dome of St Paul’s. Although these buildings are synonymous with resplendent architecture, jaw-dropping scale and…
An LVF-linked gang responsible for a sectarian attack on the new home of a nine-year-old disabled boy in Antrim has also carried out a series of attacks on properties. The gang, based in the Ballycraigy estate, has targeted several families in the area over recent days and weeks. It’s believed their aim is to drive…
Matt Letourneau Amid a shortage of Tusla special care beds, the Child Law Project (CLP) published 70 reports this Monday, detailing cases of horrifying situations for vulnerable children in State care. In one report, a High Court judge stated that it was only “by the grace of God” that these children are still alive. Special…