A former priest in Ireland has pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a seven-year-old girl during her first Confession. John Calnan, 76, was sentenced in Cork to three years in jail, with the final year suspended. He had pleaded guilty to the offending which happened in 1989. Police told the court the girl was preparing for Read more
Catholic reform leaders from around the world will meet next week in Ireland for a conference organised by a censured Redemptorist. The International Network of Church Reform Movements conference, organised by Fr Tony Flannery, is expected to attract 40 representatives. Fr Flannery said the topics expected to be discussed include the “reform agenda of Pope Read more
The Archbishop of Dublin has condemned intemperate language that is sometimes used about gays and lesbians as “obnoxious” and “unchristian”. Speaking at a meeting of the Iona Institute, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin said much of the discussion on marriage and family in Ireland today is polemical. The archbishop referred to some correspondence he has received in the Read more
An American cardinal has publicly criticised Pope Francis in a documentary to be screened on Irish television next week. On “Pope Francis – The Sinner”, Cardinal Raymond Burke says that since Pope Francis’s election two years ago, “there really just is growing confusion about what the Church teaches”. When Cardinal Burke’s term as prefect of Read more
An Irish bishop has expressed regret about comments he made about gay people as parents in the lead up to Ireland’s referendum on same-sex marriage. Bishop Kevin Doran of Elphin said in a media interview that a redefinition of marriage was also a redefinition of parenthood. When asked about gay people who are already parents, Read more
For Catholics, Episcopalians and some Lutherans, March 17 is the Feast Day of St. Patrick. For the rest of us, it’s St. Patrick’s Day — a midweek excuse to party until we’re green in the face. But who was Patrick? Did he really drive the snakes out of Ireland or use the shamrock to explain Read more
ISIS is no more Muslim than the Irish Republican Army was Catholic, the Archbishop of New York has said. During an interview on CNN, Cardinal Timothy Dolan said: “The IRA claimed to be Catholic. They were baptised. They had a Catholic identity.” But, he continued, “what they were doing was a perversion of everything the Read more
Last year, the Catholic Church in the United States spent US$43million on child abuse prevention and education. The figure was mentioned by priest psychologist Msgr Stephen Rossetti at a conference on safeguarding children in Ireland last month. Msgr Rossetti is a professor at The Catholic University of America and a visiting professor at Rome’s Pontifical Read more
Dublin’s auxiliary bishop has suggested that people give up alcohol for Lent, or at least cut down on their intake. Bishop Éamonn Walsh said this would make sense from both health and economic perspectives and would give “the body a rest”. The bishop suggested money saved might be donated to institutions which help people with Read more
Voters in the Irish Republic will decide whether or not to approve legal same-sex marriage in a referendum on May 22. In announcing the date, Taoiseach Enda Kenny said the referendum would underline Ireland’s reputation as a tolerant and inclusive nation. Mr Kenny said that most members of the Irish Parliament were in favour of Read more