“The Church must touch hearts not by constant condemnation but by opening hearts realistically to joy and hope”, urges Diarmuid Martin
Father Tony Flannery puts lie to claim Vatican did “everything possible” to dialogue with him before September ultimatum over his support for women priests, LGBT+ people
Association of Catholic Priests says English Standard Version Bible uses gender-exclusive language such as “man”, “mankind” and “brothers”
On heterosexual and same-gender unions, in the Church “we have to be able to say that both are right and there’s space for both”, says Archbishop Diarmuid Martin
“I’m not saying anti-mask protestors are neo-Nazis, but the danger is there…”, warns Archbishop Diarmuid Martin
“The Church is all male, all the time. We really need to look at that”, acknowledges Fr. Kevin McNamara in a documentary on Irish television
The Irish Bishops have said they “fully support” public health authorities after a new COVID-19-related suspension of public worship.
Church leaders from across the island of Ireland have appealed to the UK and the European Union to “act with urgency and generosity to end the economic and social uncertainty” over Brexit and to secure the best foundations for their evolving relationship.
A former Irish president has blasted the “self-serving… little old men” running the Church, warning them “people are walking away” from Catholicism “in droves”.
Irish Catholics are calling on their bishops to ensure “real and meaningful” lay participation in the “new” Church post-pandemic.
Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin has fought back against what he called a “very serious distortion” of a Vatican document on returning to in-person Masses post-pandemic.
An Irish priest has warned that bishops’ cozying up to the alt-right is “reaping a bitter whirlwind”.
The “most urgent” issue for the Church today “is to correct its gender imbalance”, an Irish nun has pleaded.
Church reform groups have blasted the Vatican for bullying a “courageous” Irish priest in favour of women’s ordination and gay marriage, telling Roman authorities to “get a grip”.
Bishop of Derry Donal McKeown has criticised Catholic “harshness”, saying that it “can make faith in Jesus hard to take seriously” and “actually works against the spread of the Gospel”.
An Irish priest has warned that the COVID-19 pandemic has placed a “huge question-mark” on the Church’s financial viability.
In a sermon Sunday, the Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, warned against becoming an “inward-looking Church… zeamous about irrelevant or marginal things”, and instead urged Catholics “to constant conversion, to purify the Church to be a Church with faith and trust in Jesus”.
As a show of “practical love for our neighbours” during COVID-19, Irish Church leaders have urged the wearing of face masks during services.
An Irish cleric has called for a “a radical reappraisal and an honest dialogue about what has gone wrong with vocations of priesthood” in order to turn around the “abysmal” vocations slide.
“Jesus was… very hard on those who condemned others or excluded people on the basis of neat divisions”, the Bishop of Derry in Northern Ireland, Donal McKeown, warned Catholic “Pharisees” in a sermon Sunday August 16.
The Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, hit out this Sunday at the “narrowness and bitterness” of Catholics who confuse zeal for defending the Church with intolerance and disrespect.
An Irish priest has taken down conservative critics of Pope Francis, denouncing that “they have little purchase on either reality or substance”.
“The development of atomic energy for war and the possession of atomic weapons is immoral and incompatible with our faith in Christ the Prince of Peace,” Archbishop of Armagh and the Primate of All Ireland Eamon Martin warned August 9 in a message for the 75th anniversary of the Nagasaki atomic bombing.
Pope Francis has expressed his condolences at the death of John Hume, a leading Northern Ireland politician regarded as one of the architects of the Northern Ireland peace process.
“Jesus’ ministry proclaimed that poor and sick lives matter… That is why He asks us to be a field hospital and not a private clinic”, the Bishop of Derry, Donal McKeown, recalled in a sermon last Sunday.
The Church has “got to answer” for its teaching on gays that “empowers the homophobic bully”, a former Irish president has insisted.
“We have much to learn from your courage”, a Catholic priest and head chaplain of the Irish armed forces has told LGBTQI+ soldiers.
Pope Francis nominated a new Bishop of the Diocese of Kilmore, Ireland, on Monday, the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul.
The Bishop of Derry has warned of a post-COVID-19 “poverty” of hope, education and economic confidence, lamenting that “many people are frightened and insecure” and calling on Catholics to offer a “message of healing and hope” amid the crisis.