While protesters in Ireland and India rally against the Irish abortion law following the death of a Hindu woman who was refused an abortion, Ireland’s Catholic bishops have affirmed that the Catholic Church “has never taught that the life of a child in the womb should be preferred to that of a mother”. The protests Read more
Fr Oliver Brennan will never forget the morning of August 14, 2010. It was to the beginning of a personal hell that saw him uprooted from the parish community he loved and feeling alienated and unable to exercise his priestly ministry. After decades in the priesthood he now stood accused of abuse. It is a harrowing Read more
The death of a pregnant woman who repeatedly asked for an abortion, but was told “this is a Catholic country”, has ignited the abortion debate in Ireland. Savita Halappanavar, a Hindu dentist originally from India, died of blood poisoning in Galway University Hospital. She was aged 31. Her husband, Praveen Halappanavar, told news media that Read more
Popular former Ireland President, Mary McAlese has criticised the Catholic Church’s treatment of five silenced Irish priests, accusing Rome of operating through fear and imposing strictures on clerics “which consume the truth”. McAlese described Marist Fr Sean Fagan and Redemptorist Fr Tony Flannery as “good men who have loved this Church with a passion” who are Read more
There are more Catholics in Ireland than ever before, but the church is losing market share due to a surge in other religions and non-believers, the Independent news site reported. The report, quoting a new census on religion, said the Catholic Church now has 3.86 million members in Ireland, but a growing population – including Read more
Seven reports reviewing child protection practices in a number of Ireland’s Catholic dioceses and religious orders have been published. The audits have found a higher incidence of abuse allegations against members of religious congregations than against priests in the four dioceses that have been audited. Reports on the audits say full compliance with child protection Read more
The Bishop of Clonfert in Galway has said he thought paedophilia was “a friendship that crossed a boundary line”. John Kirby has made the comments as the Catholic Church publishes 7 reports into child safe-guarding practices. It is the second batch of reviews to be carried out by the National Board for Safeguarding Children which Read more
The Catholic Church in Ireland has denied a report in the Irish Catholic newspaper that plans are being drawn up to allow parishes to hold lay-led Sunday services. But, across the Irish Sea, the archdiocese of Liverpool is preparing to have lay people conduct funeral services and committals at the graveside when no priest is Read more
An international survey has recorded a dramatic decline in religious faith among the Irish over the past six years. Between 2005 and 2011, the proportion of Irish people declaring themselves to be religious dropped from 69 to 47 per cent — a percentage drop in religiosity exceeded only by the Vietnamese. Over the same period, Read more
A report on the Irish College in Rome by the Archbishop of New York, Cardinal Timothy Dolan has the four archbishops of Ireland unhappy, accusing Dolan of factual errors and basic errors such as getting peoples names wrong. Among Dolan’s main recommendations was that three of the priests on the staff be replaced and one Read more