“I was a bit of a dumb cluck in the film,” the real Philomena says, chuckling. “Some of those things I didn’t say. But it had to bring a bit of laughter into it. Because it’s so sad, you know.” Even today, there’s a lingering stigma about women who choose to place their children for Read more
Former Ireland president Mary McAleese, says the Catholic Church has been in denial over homosexuality for decades. That so many priests are gay, “isn’t so much the elephant in the room but a herd of elephants. “I don’t like my church’s attitude to gay people. I don’t like ‘love the sinner, hate the sin’. If Read more
Fr Alec Reid, who helped bring peace to Northern Ireland, has died aged 82 in a Dublin hospital. During the 1980s, he secretly acted as a conduit between the IRA and politicians. He was instrumental in bringing about a 1994 ceasefire that led to peace talks and served as one of the witnesses who confirmed Read more
Fr Tony Flannery has expressed his surprise and shock at an interview given by the Vatican cardinal who led the investigation that led to his suspension from the priesthood. Speaking to TheJournal.ie following the publication of an article in the Irish Catholic, liberal Redemptorist priest said Cardinal William Levada’s decision to speak on the issue was Read more
We’ve all heard the allegations: Halloween is a pagan rite dating back to some pre-Christian festival among the Celtic Druids that escaped church suppression. Even today modern pagans and witches continue to celebrate this ancient festival. If you let your kids go trick-or-treating, they will be worshiping the devil and pagan gods. Nothing could be Read more
A prominent Irish priest has resigned from the board of Dublin’s Mater Misericordiae University hospital after the hospital announced it would allow abortions in compliance with Ireland’s new law. Father Kevin Doran told the Irish Catholic that he left the governing board because “I can’t reconcile my own conscience with the statement, largely because I Read more
Archbishop Diarmuid Martin has hit out at some Catholic writers who he said lack basic Christian charity. He also criticised elements of the Catholic media who he said were damaging the credibility of the church. In an address yesterday to the ‘Faith of Our Fathers’ conference in Kilkenny, organised by the ‘Catholic Voice’ newspaper, the Read more
Irish politicians who voted in support of Enda Keeny’s abortion legislation are coercing priests to give them Holy Communion by presenting themselves to receive during Requiem Masses. Enda Kenny received Holy Communion at a Requiem Mass in the presence of three Irish bishops in an act of public defiance. Niamh Ui Bhriain, a pro-life campaigner,’ Read more
The number of aspiring priests in Ireland is finally on the rise with 20 students enrolling to be clerics when the new college year begins next month. Maynooth College in County Kildare will admit the wannabe priests in September as 37,500 students begin third level education in Ireland. The college will welcome 20 clerical students Read more
Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin has hit out at the Catholic Church’s treatment of children after an official report trenchantly criticised three former Dublin archbishops for their mishandling of an abuse case. The report also found there was “shocking” police connivance with Church authorities in failing to investigate complaints. “The priest was looked after, people Read more