Pope Francis creates new archdiocese in Wales, appoints its first bishop

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…

The gift of indulgences

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…

Holding RTÉ accountable for lack of fairness

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…

Don’t let the State off the hook

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…

Abuse inquiry must hold all schools accountable

Chai Brady and Brandon Scott The Government’s statutory inquiry into abuse must include all schools or “rapidly lose credibility” the Head of the Journalism in Griffith College Dublin has warned. Following the publication of a scoping inquiry into religious run Catholic schools last week Dr Niall Meehan told The Irish Catholic that the Commission of…

New Maori Queen in New Zealand is Catholic

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…