Critically ill Wexford priest airlifted to Dublin hospital
An Irish missionary working in Gambia in west Africa has had to be airlifted home after becoming seriously ill with malaria. Fr. Sean Devereux (46), from Tacumshane, Co Wexford, is now being ....

1,000% illicit drug mark-up will sustain the trade - Fr McVerry
Drugs sold on the streets in Ireland have a 1,000% mark-up on the price paid for them in their country of origin, prominent social campaigner Fr Peter McVerry, has claimed. Addressing a meeting in ....

Running a parish "stressful"
A Northern Ireland based priest has claimed that the stresses and strains of running a parish have caused him to resign as parish priest.  Limavady’s parish priest, Fr Michael Collins, has ....

Carlow churchgoer speaks of distress of couple abandoning baby.
A Carlow churchgoer who spoke to a distressed couple who abandoned an eight-month old baby in the porch of the town’s cathedral has revealed that she was fraught with worry about the pair after ....

Marriage week celebrated
President Mary McAleese is to address the subject “Marriage Matters” at theDundrum Methodist Church Centre next Wednesday February 10. “We are honoured that President Mary and Martin McAleese will ....

Leaders welcome agreement on policing in the North
President Mary McAleese and other political and religious leaders have welcomed the agreement announced on Friday, between Sinn Féin and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) as an historic ....

Vatican calls on world leaders to combat the “forgotten disease”
World leaders were urged by the Vatican on international World Day of Leprosy to develop and reinforce the strategies necessary to combat this “forgotten disease” of which there were 210,000 new ....

Trafficked women testify
Ruhama has backed women who gave evidence against a gang that forced them into prostitution.  Thanks to the women’s testimony, an Irish man, his wife and his daughter were given prison ....

Chief Rabbi defends Pope on UK equality law
Britain’s Chief Rabbi has defended Pope Benedict's intervention on the UK Government's Equality Bill. His statement came after Pope Benedict attacked the legislation, which would require churches ....

Alternative Mass arrangements rolled out in Longford
A chapel in St Mel’s College in Longford has been renovated to give people of the town access to weekday Masses following the destruction of the town’s cathedral in a fire over Christmas. The ....

Bishop Willie Walsh says society should focus more on the positive
The Bishop of Killaloe Dr Willie Walsh has said that society needs to focus more on success stories rather than always trying to apportion blame when something goes wrong.  Bishop Walsh made ....

Lords' vote safeguarding religious freedom to stand
Labour minister Harriet Harman has indicated that she will not try to overturn the House of Lords votes on the Equality Bill, which preserved religious groups’ employment freedoms. Peers voted on ....

Resilience in crises
There has been a 30% increase in people approaching the Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SVP) for help since mid-2008.  One quarter of them have never done so before - in fact they may have ....

Judge orders closure of nuns’ nursing home.
A nursing home for elderly nuns in Monaghan run by their religious congregation is set to close after a ruling from a district court judge. Judge Sean MacBride granted the order to Monaghan County ....

Abstinence education can work, says new report
Sex education classes that focus on encouraging children to remain abstinent can persuade a significant proportion to delay sexual activity, according to new US research. The research, published ....

Local votes to decide future of primary schools
Local referenda are expected to be held in each area where the Catholic Church agrees to relinquish control of its schools, Minister for Education, Batt O’Keeffe said yesterday. The Irish Times ....

Pope speaks of visit to UK
Pope Benedict XVI spoke of the many signs of living faith and devotion among the Catholics of England and Wales whilst confirming his intention to visit.  It has been reported that the visit ....

St Brigid’s day
Brigid the Earthwoman, Irish Mandela, Woman of Compassion are just some of the titles explored in this week’s Féile Bríde 2010, an annual festival in Kildare town that celebrates Brigid of ....

Saint Patrick’s day parades in Ireland could be under threat
Saint Patrick’s Day parades in some of the country’s largest cities could be under threat because of the current wave of industrial action in the public sector.  According to the Irish ....

Donegal priest returns home from hospital after surviving car accident
A County Donegal based Capuchin priest has this week spoke of his delight at been back in his native county again 18 months after been involved in an horrific car accident. Fr Mark Coyle, who is ....

Death in Meath of former Westminister priest
Tributes are been paid in the Diocese of Meath and beyond this week to a local priest who is also a former priest of the Archdiocese of Westminster in England who passed away this week.  Fr ....

Mullingar hospital grotto given A revamp
A grotto built at St. Loman's Hospital in Mullingar almost 45 years ago, has just received a complete facelift, due to the efforts of both patients and staff at St. Edna's unit in the town.  ....

Mountmelllick pioneers launch new book
The Pioneer Total Abstinence Association in Mountmellick in County Laois launched a new book this week that celebrates 100 years of the association in the town.  The town, which previously ....

Archbishop rejects criticism of his response to Murphy report
Catholic clergy and others associated with the mishandling of clerical child sex abuse, as revealed in the Murphy report, must accept general responsibility for their failure to protect children, ....

Galway Councillor criticises grotto vandalism
A Galway County Councillor has hit out at vandals who stole two statues from grottos in the county over the past month.  The statues of Our Lady have been stolen from a grotto in ....

Call for ban on head shops
This week a conference heard calls for stricter laws for so called ‘head shops’ that legally sell substances which mimic cocaine, amphetamines and other illegal drugs. Junior Minister with ....

Room for grief
A new book by Mary Brady explores grief through art, poetry, and scripture.  Time Without You: Moving through the Rooms of Grief, has been launched by Myles O’Reilly, Chaplain for the Bethany ....

Claims abortion ban violates human rights "ridiculous": PLC
Claims by a New York group, which advocates abortion that Ireland is in breach of its international human rights obligations because of its abortion ban are “ridiculous,” the Pro Life Campaign has ....

Convert Anglicans must not become sect within church says theologian
Discontented Anglicans who convert must not become a sect within the Roman Catholic Church, a senior Catholic clergyman in the UK dealing with church unity has warned.  Anglicans who object ....

Death in Dublin of SMA Bishop John Moore of Bauchi, Nigeria
Bishop John Moore SMA, who has worked in northern Nigeria since 1966, died recently in Dublin.  He had returned to Ireland in December for medical treatment and was undergoing tests at St ....

Bizarre theft of Blessed Sacrament from church.
A County Laois priest has said he is puzzled at the theft from a church of the Blessed Sacrament. Monsignor John Byrne, parish priest in Portlaoise, said thieves had taken the Blessed Sacrament ....

Parental choice must be respected
Yesterday Cardinal Brady launched Catholic Schools Week 2010 and inaugurated the new Catholic Schools Partnership. Referring to the recent debate on the future of catholic schools Cardinal Seán ....

Facebook group succeeds in stopping adultery ads
A Facebook group, started by a Christian, has succeeded in getting a website encouraging adultery to stop publicly advertising.   The group, STOP maritalaffair.co.uk, advertising ....

Lords defeats bid to weaken religious freedom
The UK Government has lost in the House of Lords over its attempt in the Equality Bill to alter the law on who churches and other faith-based groups can employ. Peers voted 216 to 178 in favour of ....

New movie to be made on Saint Columba
A movie that details the life of the Irish saint who brought christianity to Scotland is to be released next year with Oscar winner, Jeremy Irons heading the cast.  The film on the life of ....

Pope tells priests to use modern media
Pope Benedict XVI has urged priests to proclaim the Gospel by employing the latest generation of audiovisual resources (images, videos, animated features, blogs, and websites). In his message for ....

Cardinal Brady makes appeals for aid to Haiti
Cardinal Seán Brady has this week appealed for help to ease the suffering in Haiti.  With the death toll expected to break through the 200,000 barrier, Cardinal Seán Brady has urged the ....

Archbishop of Canterbury at Mary Ward 400 Jubilee Mass
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, gave an address on Mary Ward following the Distribution of Holy Communion at a Mass to celebrate the 400th anniversary of beginnings of the sisters ....

Lay woman appointed to Vatican
The first female undersecretary has been appointed to the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. Flaminia Giovanelli is the new undersecretary, taking over from Bishop Frank Dewane who left the ....

Parents have right to choose Catholic schools: Iona
What parents want ought to be “front and centre” in the debate over education, the Iona Institute has said. In a statement yesterday, the director of the Institute, David Quinn, said that the real ....