A Marist priest and theologian who died last week in Dublin had his heart and spirit broken by the Vatican, a former president of Ireland has said. Mary McAleese was speaking of the late Fr Seán Fagan, who died at St Vincent’s Hospital in Dublin last Friday. For many years he was critical of Vatican Read more
A former president of Ireland has said that an entrenched clericalism in that country used to view any opposition to itself as militant secularism. Speaking in an interview on the Crux website, Mary McAleese said Ireland had, at least in part, been dissuaded from anti-immigrant movements because of its rich Christian culture. She was asked Read more
When a priest accused of sexual abuse dies, care should be taken as to how his funeral is conducted, new Irish child protection guidelines say. The National Board for Safeguarding Children published updated guidelines on Wednesday. They give recommendations if an accused priest dies before an investigation has concluded. In such a case, “careful thought Read more
Catholicism in Ireland is being abandoned to obsessive extremists, a leading priest has said. Fr Brendan Hoban also criticised a “religious media more anxious to protect its pockets than engage with the realities of faith in the world”. Fr Hoban is the co-founder of the Association of Catholic Priests in Ireland. He made these criticisms Read more
Catholic schools in Ireland are under pressure to ban Amnesty International speakers, because of that group’s support for liberalising abortion law. Amnesty has been a public supporter of repealing the Eighth Amendment to the Irish Constitution, which puts “right to life of the unborn” on an equal footing with the right to life of the Read more
The Catholic Church in Ireland is “very lacking” in people of intellect who, educated in faith, can address issues of our times, the Archbishop of Dublin says. The Church needs “competent lay men and women educated in their faith”, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin said, according to a report in the Irish Times. The archbishop referred to Read more
A Catholic bishop in Ireland has accused politicians and media of seeking the destruction of the Church. Bishop William Crean of Cloyne said the goal of such people seems to be the elimination of the Church from public debate. “Ireland through its political and media establishment seems determined to eliminate the engagement of the Catholic Read more
Serious concerns have been expressed about well-being of priests in Ireland, in the light of what is being called “huge mental and physical pressure”. The concerns were aired at a meeting between several Irish bishops and representatives of the Association of Catholic Priests, the Irish Times reported. The ACP said it was “becoming more and Read more
An Irish political candidate has been told he can’t do readings in his parish anymore because of his party’s stance over abortion law reform. Social Democrat candidate Ken Curtin was dropped as a reader at Mass in a County Cork parish at the order of the parish administrator Fr John McCarthy. The aspiring politician then Read more
One of Ireland’s best known priests has likened the censure he received from the Vatican to the abuse he suffered as a child and as a seminarian. In an interview for Irish TV, Fr Brian D’Arcy, CP, said it took him years to get over the sexual abuse inflicted upon him. “One never ever gets Read more