Fr Ricky O’Connor was raised without any faith. This changed when he bought a Bible and began to read it in his late teens. He became a Catholic when he was 22 and began his seminary studies in Maynooth when he was 24.
It was shocking that the NHS should seek to end a healthy pregnancy against the wishes of the pregnant woman and the people who support her – Bishop John Sherrington.
“It is clear that support for mental health and drug prevention is seriously lacking across the whole area,” Fr Michael Toomey warned Minister for Mental Health, Jim Daly.
Bishop Donal McKeown tells Fr Declan McGeehan, “In a ‘throwaway culture’ where young people face many challenges, including mental health issues, you are called to proclaim hope and not condemnation, grace and not anger.”
“As a result of the government’s hostile environment policies members of the Windrush generation were until very recently detained and even deported. The government must now restore the human dignity of those whose rights were violated.”
“This is an essential part of the mission of the priest; to break for the people the bread of God’s Word as well as the bread of the Eucharist.”
Team of four is aiming to raise €30,000 for Pieta House, which works with those suffering from depression or anxiety, and Down Syndrome Ireland, which is fundraising for a new regional centre in the west of Ireland.
“You never get used to it, and you can feel your heart and soul hurting.”
"If the contributions of people with intellectual disabilities were allowed to shine more, the quality of life for everybody would be better.”
“It is a good thermometer of the thirst out there for something more. People are being ignited by it.”
National conference on Saturday will encourage people from all over Ireland to launch out into the deep.
Family.ie advises parents to spend time talking to children in pre-teen years before they naturally pull away and to “control what you can control” – in particular getting phones out of bedrooms.
Alliance wants to meet with Gardaí to discuss the continued implementation of the more recent Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017, and ensure it is used in the way in which it was intended – to support those who are sexually exploited.
President of Ireland says this figure highlights “the growing scale of the challenge we face in helping refugees, asylum seekers and those internally displaced”.
NBSCCCI annual report for 2018 shows Pope Francis’ visit to Ireland for the World Meeting of Families last August saw a spike in allegations of clerical abuse.
Emerging issues with the economy now at almost ‘full employment’ are in-work poverty and the difficulty for people in rural areas in accessing employment.
“While affirming that celibacy is a gift for the Church, it is asked that for the most remote areas of the region, the possibility of priestly ordination of elders ... even those who already have stable and consolidated families, be studied in order to ensure the sacraments to accompany and sustain Christian life.”
Mercy nun who works with Irish Chaplaincy in Britain highlights that Irish people are the second largest ethnic minority in the British prison system today.
“In the future when weekday and even Sunday Mass is not available, some of you might be formed to lead a period of guided adoration with prayers, praise and sharing of the Word of God.”
“It is the poor who suffer the worst impacts of the climate crisis.”
“We want worship to be celebrated here again, because that is what a cathedral is all about.”
“People should come to Vincent’s shops because they want to, not because they have to.”
“In our rapidly changing Ireland, we appeal for a new-found respect for every human person, without exception, and a complete avoidance of the use of offensive language."
“During the Novena, we are not just praying for ourselves, but for the entire community,”
Medical practitioner never examined mother or met her in advance of abortion, Deputy Peadar Tóibín tells Dáil.
Capuchins apologise, saying Fr Tom Forde’s comments were not intended to “cause hurt to anyone”.
“This is yet another example of the many ‘accidental cruelties’ of the direct provision system. Nobody means to do harm and everybody does their job, sort of, but things seem to happen to persons in direct provision that don’t happen to other people because it’s a system without a heart.”
The Worldpriest Annual Global Rosary Relay Novena starts on 20 June and finishes on 28 June, and includes daily reflection done to a camera, to be broadcast worldwide.
Karen Ward, speaking of Mary McAleese and her guest, said: “They really felt the essence of pilgrimage – that every step is a prayer, that it takes you deeper into yourself, and being out in nature.”
Dom Malachy Thompson was ordained a Cistercian priest on Pentecost Sunday, while on Sunday 30 June Bishop Larry Duffy will ordain Deacon Kevin Connolly for Clogher diocese.
