Bishop Denis Nulty has issued an invitation to participants at the National Ploughing Championship at Ratheniska, Co. Laois later this month to visit the Diocese of Kildare & Leighlin’s stand.   The event, from September 24-26, is one of Europe’s largest outdoor exhibitions and agricultural trade shows, which attracts on average 1,300 exhibitors and 187,000…

Church choirs throughout the Archdiocese of Dublin are joining forces for one rousing performance to close the Year of Faith.   Singers from all corners of the Dublin archdiocese are being encouraged to join an assembled choir to perform G.F. Handel’s masterpiece Messiah at a special ceremony in All Hallows College Chapel in November.  …

Kerry diocese received €1,300 last year to fund weekly group meetings for gay teens and those questioning their sexuality.   The Community Foundation of Ireland’s annual report 2012 reveals it provided Kerry Diocesan Youth Service (KDYS) with the funding last year “to support a new LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender] group of 12 people to…

Leader-in-waiting of the Church in Ireland Archbishop Eamon Martin has taken up a new lead role in the Church’s communications strategy. Dr Martin, who is currently shadowing Cardinal Seán Brady as coadjutor Archbishop of Armagh, spearheaded the Church’s campaign against Enda Kenny’s recent abortion legislation. He has undertaken a number of high-profile media interviews in…

RTÉ is gearing up for another season of religious discussion programming. Beyond Belief returns to RTÉ One TV with a new series of six Monday night programmes beginning on September 23 at 11.15pm.   In this series, Mick Peelo and a panel discuss a range of stories from a moral, ethical and religious perspective.  …

A new cross-church campaign to tackle sectarianism has been established in the North following a summer of parade related violence.   The initiative entitled ‘Hope and History – Building Peace in Northern Ireland’ is inviting members of the churches to sign up to a statement that gives positive encouragement to those who are committed to…

There has been widespread condemnation after a Catholic church was damaged in a petrol bomb attack in Newtownabbey, Co. Antrim.   Paint was also thrown at St Mary’s Star of the Sea church on the Shore Road.   Presbyterian Moderator Dr Rob Craig has condemned the “blatantly sectarian” attack as “despicable”.   “The cross-community condemnation…

The 100th anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising will be a hollow celebration if the Government continues savage cuts to the most vulnerable, the Society of St Vincent de Paul has warned.   Amid talk of further deep budget cuts, the SVP, the country’s largest charity, says the coalition is failing to give people hope…

Pope Francis has appealed to the US not to launch military strikes against Syria as the Vatican intensifies efforts to find a diplomatic solution to the crisis.  Tens of thousands of people answered the call by Pope Francis for a ‘cry for peace’ in Syria by attending a vigil in St Peter’s Square at the…

Parish collections to fund last year’s International Eucharistic Congress raised more than €4m to cover the event, final accounts show.   Figures, which have just been finalised and lodged with the Companies Registration Office, show that overall the Church spent €9.5m on the lead-up to and during the week-long event.   Collections  Funds for the…