Tyrone GAA manager Mickey Harte has said that the power of prayer has helped his family to carry on over the past year since his daughter Michaela was murdered while on honeymoon in Mauritius. Just days earlier, Michaela had married John McAreavey who was to discover his bride dead on January 10 in their…

  An Irish Jesuit based in the Philippines for 30 years said the country needs action more than compassion as relief programmes there continue to deal with the devastation of flash flooding caused by a tropical storm. Typhoon Washi struck from December 16 to 18, ravaging the cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan on…

  Pope Benedict XVI has appointed an Irish Franciscan missionary to lead a diocese of nearly 400,000 Catholics in Honduras. Fr Michael Lenihan, a native of Abbeyfeale, Co. Limerick, will head up the newly-formed Diocese of Le Ceiba in the Central American nation. He was ordained a member of the Franciscan Order (OFM) in 1980…

Pope picks US priest as new Irish Papal Nuncio Pope Benedict XVI has tapped New Yorker Msgr Charlie Brown to be the new Papal Nuncio to Ireland according to sources in the Department of Foreign Affairs. It is a significant move and the first native English-speaker to be appointed the Pope’s representative in Ireland since…

Michael Kelly meets Dr Patrick McDevitt, the passionate new president of Dubin’s All Hallows College Dublin’s All Hallows College will next year celebrate 170 years of existence. Nestled in the city’s Drumcondra suburb the college has undergone a considerable transformation since its establishment in 1842 as a seminary to train young Irishmen for the priesthood.…

Of allegations and revelations As the fallout from the dreadful RTÉ defamation of Fr Kevin Reynolds continues, senior politicians from the Taoiseach down have been lining up to express their shock and dismay at both the libel and the State broadcaster’s haphazard and somewhat grudging reaction. One politician, however, who has been noticeably silent is…

Dublin’s Archbishop Diarmuid Martin has used his World Day of Peace message to appeal for a “mature” debate about the role of faith in society and warned against crude caricatures of religion. He also said that society must acknowledge that despite the scandals, the Church’s overall contribution to Ireland has been positive. Speaking at Mass…

While many egregious past failings are highlighted the audits reveal real and substantial progress, writes David Quinn Awaiting the release last week of the audits of child protection practice in six dioceses, the big question was whether they would reveal failings on the scale of Cloyne diocese. That is, would they reveal failings that put…

A Co. Down-based priest who stood aside following allegations of abuse has been restored to full priestly ministry after police said the allegations were unfounded. One can’t even begin to imagine how devastating it must be for a priest (or indeed anyone) to be the subject of a false allegation. Making the announcement about Castlewellan…