Pope speaks on organ donation
The Pope has given important indications on the use of organ donation at a special conference addressing the subject. The recent conference on the theme, A gift for life: considerations on ....

Singapore archdiocese launches Catholic business network
Working professionals and business owners of all types now have a place to network and  support one another while striving to live out the Churchʼs social mission in the world thanks to ....

Foreign missions’ success has made them redundant: Fr Pádraig Standún
A Galway priest has said that Ireland’s missionaries working in developing countries have made themselves redundant by their own success. Writing in The Connaught Telegraph newspaper, Fr Pádraig ....

Uproar over mercy killing in Italy
A decision by a court in Italy to allow a woman in a vegetative state to be starved to death has been widely condemned. Eluana Englaro was still a teenager in 1992 when she was injured in a car ....

Russian government threatens to liquidate 56 religious organisations
Russia's justice ministry has drawn up a list of 56 religious organisations for liquidation, mainly Protestant, Nestorian, Armenian Apostolic and Catholic as well as Buddhist and Muslim. The list ....

Prison – charity hook up to deliver live aid to Uganda
For months now inmates at Shelton Abbey prison, Co. Wicklow have been catering for a new breed of inmates; four-legged, hay-devouring, milk-producing and life-changing dairy goats donated to Bóthar ....

Moves to dilute "equal time" for referenda will be opposed: Cóir
Any attempt to dilute the Coughlan judgment will meet with “serious and united opposition”, according to Cóir spokesperson, Richard Greene.  His remarks came in response to comments made by ....

Vocations crisis overstated, claims priest
The vocations director for Armagh archdiocese has said that concern about the country’s shortage of vocations fails to take into account a steady recovery in the number of people entering ....

Last of the Medical Missionaries pioneers dies
A founder member of the Medical Missionaries of Mary, has died in Ireland and was buried yesterday. Sister M. Magdalen O'Rourke, who would have been 99 today, was one of the three pioneer ....

Ireland has capacity to change Europe, says Archbishop of Dublin
Ireland cannot shrink from its European responsibilities and her identity, is “irrevocably bound with Europe” according to the Archbishop of Dublin. Speaking at a special Mass ....

Missionaries kidnapped in Kenya
Two Italian missionary nuns have been kidnapped in Kenya and are believed to be held hostage in neighbouring Somalia. Sister Maria Teresa Olivero (60 pictured) and Sr Caterina Giraud ....

Bishops reassured after meeting with Education Minister
Senior bishops and the Minister for Education Mr Batt O'Keeffe TD had what was described as “a cordial and constructive meeting” on Wednesday, according to Bishop Leo O'Reilly, Chair of the ....

Economic slump hits churches
Churches have received a stark message that they are not exempt from the effects of the recession after the building of a new church in County Down was halted by the collapse of a construction firm ....

Religious groups to lobby Obama on torture, abortion
A coalition of more than 200 religious groups urged US President-elect Barack Obama on Wednesday to sign an order, once he takes office, banning torture by any federal government entity. "This is ....

Men who engage in sex with trafficked women face jail: ad
For the first time in Ireland an ad will run on TV warning men that if they engage in sex with women who are trafficked, they can end up in jail. Up to now Ruhama, an organisation working with ....

Portlaoise re-dedicated
St Peter and St Paul’s Church was filled to capacity with a congregation of 2000 for its re-dedication. The ceremony was also followed live on the internet by parishioners’ families in New York, ....

Alcohol features in one in six suicides, psychiatrist claims
The inestricable and alarming link between heavy drinking and suicide in Ireland - particularly in the impromptu suicides of young men - has been highlighted at a national conference in Cork. Dr ....

Greater scrutiny of EU legislation needed: TD
Opt-outs aimed at protecting Ireland’s laws affecting the family, the right to life and religious freedom from possible EU encroachment will be given serious consideration by the Oireachtas ....

Pastoral theology challenges people on identity of Jesus
Pastoral theology should challenge  people about their understanding of the identity of Jesus, and how that affects their lives as individuals and as the Church, according to the ....

UK bishop reopens debate on married priests
The Bishop of Nottingham has said there is no doctrinal reason preventing priests from having wives. He was speaking to the Sunday Telegraph recently. “It has always been a matter of ....

Suspect held for murder of two Jesuit priests in Moscow
Police have detained a Russian man from the Tver Region in central Russia in connection with the brutal murder of two Jesuit priests who were found dead in their apartment on 28th ....

Companies catching on to ethical Xmas gifts: Trócaire
Ethical, ‘feel-good’ Christmas presents are here to stay said Trocaire yesterday at the launch of its 2008 Christmas gifts. Charity gifts have soared in popularity, with the organisation’s ....

Rekindle your hope, bishops tell Orissa Christians
The six Catholic bishops of the region of Orissa in eastern India  issued a pastoral letter during last week to the faithful being persecuted there, encouraging them to rekindle their hope, ....

Public policy must have a special optic for the vulnerable: Dr Martin
The archbishop of Dublin has called for a poverty strategy, which will not just address the needs of the poor, but will have an eye to the future with the most vulnerable in mind. Addressing a St ....

Bishops call on European Parliament to protect Sunday as rest day
“The protection of Sunday is a cornerstone of the European Social Model and an issue of central importance for workers and their families.” So said Fr Piotr Mazurkiewicz, the secretary ....

Catholic colleges do not strengthen students’ faith: US survey
A survey of US Catholic college students published by The Cardinal Newman Society’s (CNS) Center for the Study of Catholic Higher Education finds that most students on Catholic campuses reject key ....

Monitor your technology consumption: expert
A Jesuit priest has warned about the dangers of internet addiction and called on technology users to be “savvy consumers and monitor your own behaviour.” Dr Richard Leonard SJ, who recently ....

Churches unite to give leadership in desperate Zimbabwe
Church leaders in Zimbabwe are starting an unprecedented process which will enable them to take up a pivotal role in the reconstruction of their country. After a groundbreaking meeting, the ....

The world was created by 'First Being': Benedict XVI
Opening a five day Vatican meeting on evolution which concluded last Tuesday, Pope Benedict XVI affirmed that the world did not emerge out of chaos but was intentionally created by "the First ....

At least 400 were abused by clerics in 68 year period in Dublin
Allegations of child sexual abuse have been made against a total of 140 priests and religious in a 68 year period, in the Dublin diocese and at least 400 people have been identified who either ....

TV influences teen pregnancies
Teenagers with high levels of exposure to sexually explicit television programs are twice as likely as their peers, who watch fewer such shows, to be involved in a pregnancy over the following ....

Gay marriage setback in US polls
Voters in three states in the US have come down in favour of preserving marriage as a union between a man and a woman. In votes held in parallel with the Presidential and Congressional elections, ....

Psychological assessment is to help priesthood candidates to grow
A professor at St Patrick’s College, Maynooth, has welcomed the new Vatican document dealing with the psychological assessment of candidates for the priesthood. Prof Michael Mullaney, ....

Churches intervene in educational dispute
The four main churches have intervened in the education dispute in Northern Ireland which they warn is causing distress and anxiety to children, deep unease to parents and teachers, and a growing ....

Spain’s Queen Sofia causes a huge stir on her 70th birthday
Last Sunday Queen Sofia celebrated her 70th birthday with a private family gathering. Over the weekend, much dismay and anger was caused by certain excerpts from a new biography, La Reina Muy de ....

Armagh archdiocese unveils brave pastoral plan
Cardinal Seán Brady, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, has launched a ground breaking diocesan Pastoral Plan for his archdiocese. Based around the idea of parish clusters, the ....

New hope for America
Barack Obama has been elected the 44th president of the United States of America. The President-elect, who’s name Barack means ‘blessed one’ spoke of hope, democracy and making a difference in his ....

Vatican official urges Korean PM to abolish death penalty
During a recent visit to South Korea, a high-ranking Vatican official asked the prime minister, a Catholic, to abolish the country's death penalty. "The premier replied that he would consider it," ....

Cardinal calls for challenge to civil partnership legislation
The leader of the Catholic Church in Ireland has expressed his concern over the Civil Partnership Bill, the General Scheme of which was published in June. The General Scheme envisages the ....

Rome hosts Vatican-Muslim summit
The Vatican says it wants to open a "new chapter" in relations with Islam. Muslim and Vatican officials are holding historic talks in Rome to establish a better inter-faith dialogue and defuse any ....