# Catholic Church

# Priests wanted

Initiative encouraging men to join priesthood launched as numbers dwindle

Numbers entering the priesthood in Ireland have been in steep decline since the 1970s.

27.9k

7 hours ago

This year

2023

# Catholic Church

Pope Francis names 21 new cardinals, including prelates from Jerusalem and Hong Kong

The pontiff announced his selection during his weekly public appearance in St Peter’s Square at the Vatican.

11.0k

Jul 9th 2023, 1:55 PM

# Annual Report

'Significant' increase in allegations of Catholic Church abuse reported to safeguard board

The National Board for Safeguard Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland has published its annual report.

6.5k

Jun 13th 2023, 2:02 PM

# Synod of Bishops

Women given right to vote at upcoming meeting of Catholic Bishops

For years, women within the Catholic Church have been fighting for the right to vote at the periodic meetings.

7.1k

Apr 27th 2023, 12:08 PM

# pray for our sinners

'Here's a group who risked everything for others, but didn't tell anyone about it'

We speak to the director of a new film about a ‘quiet resistance’ against the Catholic Church in Navan.

29.4k

Apr 10th 2023, 9:00 AM

# Catholic Church

Pope Francis extends 2019 sex abuse law to cover lay leaders

A letter, directly sent by the pontiff, also said that vulnerable adults could be victims of predator priests

9.3k

Mar 25th 2023, 5:55 PM

# Shooting

Tributes paid to Irish auxiliary bishop shot dead in Los Angeles yesterday

The 69-year-old Cork man was remembered by colleagues as a ‘peacemaker’ and had served the LA community for 45 years.

32.8k

Feb 19th 2023, 4:19 PM

# Portugal

Independent commission finds Catholic clergy in Portugal abused nearly 5,000 children since 1950

The Portuguese inquiry, commissioned by the Church, published its findings after hearing from more than 500 victims last year.

9.5k

Feb 13th 2023, 12:36 PM

# pope francis

Pope Francis: Those criminalising homosexuality are 'wrong'

The Pontiff has written a letter clarifying his earlier comments about homosexual acts being a sin.

16.0k

Jan 28th 2023, 4:02 PM

# LGBTQ

Pope calls for bishops to welcome LGBTQ people into church

Some 67 countries or jurisdictions worldwide criminalise consensual same-sex sexual activity, 11 of which can or do impose the death penalty.

21.0k

Jan 25th 2023, 8:34 AM

# Catholic Church

Pilgrims keep streaming to Vatican to honour Pope Benedict

The former pontiff’s body is lying in state after his death on Saturday.

8.5k

Jan 3rd 2023, 11:00 AM

Last year

2022

# Pope Benedict XVI

Irish and world leaders pay tributes as former pope Benedict XVI dies aged 95

Benedict XVI resigned as pope in 2013.

His health had been in decline, with Pope Francis calling for prayers in recent days

Benedict will be buried in the papal tombs under St Peter's Basilica

The German pope emeritus, whose birth name was Joseph Ratzinger, had been living a quiet life since his shock decision to step down

60.1k

Updated

Dec 31st 2022, 7:05 PM

# Catholic Church

Pope Benedict XVI dead at 95: From the Nazi Youth to the papacy

The German national became pontiff in 2005.

22.6k

Dec 31st 2022, 9:59 AM

# Catholic Church

Pope removes entire leadership of Vatican-based Caritas charity

This comes after outside experts highlighted management and procedural “deficiencies”.

22.6k

Nov 23rd 2022, 9:20 AM

# redacted lives

'We were a pure Catholic nation - and anyone who challenged that in any way was punished'

The latest episode of Redacted Lives, The Journal’s new podcast, explores the power nexus between Church and State in Ireland.

The latest episode of Redacted Lives, The Journal's new podcast, explores the power nexus between Church and State

High Walls examines how and why so many unmarried mothers and their children were incarcerated in Ireland

Éamon de Valera tried to have the Constitution approved by the pope in 1937, Órla Ryan reports

55.8k

Nov 20th 2022, 12:05 AM

# Abuse

Spiritans abuse survivor says 'balance of power' has changed as he urges more to come forward

The leader of the Spiritans in Ireland, Father Martin Kelly, also issued an apology to all victims on behalf of the order.

23.0k

Nov 16th 2022, 3:56 PM

# Catholic Church

'Crying need' for atonement over Church abuse, says Archbishop of Armagh

Eamon Martin was speaking at a graduation in Maynooth University.

14.2k

Nov 12th 2022, 1:33 PM

# Catholic Church

Vatican to launch preliminary abuse investigation into French cardinal

Jean-Pierre Ricard, a long-standing bishop of Bordeaux, admitted to a “reprehensible” act on a 14-year-old.

11.6k

Nov 11th 2022, 5:40 PM

# Catholic Church

11 French bishops accused of sexual violence, senior church group says

All of the accused will face either prosecution or church disciplinary procedures.

13.1k

Nov 7th 2022, 3:28 PM

# Father Séan Sheehy

Influential priest says LGBT Catholics are 'as much a part of the Church' as the pope

Father James Martin made the remarks following a controversial homily by Father Séan Sheehy in Kerry.

25.2k

Nov 7th 2022, 11:34 AM

# Listowel

Priest who criticised same-sex relationships and free condoms stands by comments

Fr Seán Sheehy told parishioners on Sunday that sex between two men or two women is sinful.

44.7k

Nov 2nd 2022, 9:06 AM

# Kerry

Bishop of Kerry apologises after priest tells mass that free condoms promote promiscuity

Fr Seán Sheehy also told the congregation in Listowel that sex between two men or two women was a sin, as was ‘transgenderism’.

39.7k

Nov 1st 2022, 1:07 PM

Voices

Holly Cairns: Calculating redress based on length of time in an institution is just wrong

The Social Democrats TD says the government’s redress scheme fails to consider human rights violations perpetrated on thousands of women and children.

7.9k

Oct 19th 2022, 7:00 AM

# Nicaragua

Pope 'concerned' after Nicaraguan bishop detained

Pope Francis said he was following “closely with concern and sorrow” the situation in Nicaragua, two days after bishop and regime critic Rolando Alvarez was detained.

13.8k

Aug 21st 2022, 1:36 PM

# pope francis

Pope Francis says he may have to slow down or retire

The 85-year-old pope has been using a wheelchair more frequently due to knee pain.

24.5k

Jul 30th 2022, 1:15 PM

# Clerical Abuse

Portugal opens investigation into sexual abuse claims against Catholic Church

An independent commission gathered testimony from alleged victims.

8.6k

Jul 29th 2022, 3:30 PM

# pope francis

Pope to begin ‘penitential pilgrimage’ in Canada to apologise to Native peoples

Pope Francis will express his sadness over the horrors of church-run Indigenous residential schools.

15.2k

Jul 23rd 2022, 12:16 PM

# pope francis

Pope appoints first women to Vatican department responsible for choosing new bishops

Two nuns and a laywoman have been appointed to the Dicastery for Bishops.

14.7k

Jul 13th 2022, 7:18 PM

# unrest

Nigerian forces hunt gunmen who killed 50 at church

No-one has claimed responsibility for the killings.

21.4k

Jun 6th 2022, 8:43 PM

# pope francis

Pope Francis names 21 new cardinals

Many of the names are figures from outside Europe, keeping with Francis’s determination to have church leaders reflect the global face of the Catholic Church.

23.7k

May 29th 2022, 5:00 PM

# Donations

Churchgoers on island of Ireland raise €3.25 million for Ukraine

Archbishop Eamon Martin of Armagh and Archbishop Dermot Farrell of Dublin paid tribute to the generosity of parishioners.

18.8k

Apr 14th 2022, 10:55 PM

# Catholic Church

Pope Francis apologises to Canadian Indigenous people for abuse at church-run schools

Numerous investigations into the former residential schools are underway across Canada after the discovery of mass unmarked graves.

12.0k

Apr 1st 2022, 4:32 PM

# we vs i

Declaring thousands of baptisms in US invalid due to word error 'over the top', Irish priest says

Thousands of Catholics in the US and Brazil may have to be re-baptised because the priest in question said ‘we’ instead of ‘I’.

34.2k

Feb 17th 2022, 2:51 PM

# baptism barrier

Dublin archdiocese saw 10% decline in christenings in the year after 'baptism barrier' was removed

Baptisms in Dublin dropped from 13,234 to 11,922 between 2018 and 2019.

In Dublin, the rate of baptisms decreased by roughly 10% between 2018 and 2019.

In that same year, Ireland’s birth rates fell from 61,016 to 59,796, according to the CSO.

Ireland in 2018 amended legislation to remove the so-called “baptism barrier”.

36.1k

Feb 5th 2022, 12:05 AM

# British Columbia

93 potential graves found at Canada school site

Since May, more than 1,000 anonymous graves have been found near former schools run by religious groups.

18.9k

Jan 26th 2022, 9:14 AM

# Courts

Retired priest accused of assaulting boy over 50 years ago in High Court bid to halt trial

The judge adjourned the matter to a date in March.

32.5k

Jan 24th 2022, 3:50 PM

# Catholic Church

Ex-pope Benedict failed to act in four child abuse cases, report finds

The report analyses how abuse cases were dealt with in the archdiocese of Munich and Freising between 1945 and 2019.

29.8k

Updated

Jan 20th 2022, 3:32 PM

# Italy

Rome church condemns funeral with swastika-draped coffin and fascist salute

The parish priest and the church distanced themselves from ‘every word, gesture and symbol’.

41.8k

Jan 11th 2022, 6:28 PM

All time

# Family

Pope warns of 'demographic winter' and advises married couples to use 'please, thanks and sorry'

Francis has acknowledged how some relationships may have become strained during lockdown.

55.8k

Dec 26th 2021, 2:47 PM

# pope francis

Pope Francis urges humility as he chides cardinals and bishops in Christmas address

As he has before, the pontiff used his annual Christmas address to take Vatican administrators to task for their perceived moral and personal failings.

24.1k

Dec 23rd 2021, 12:24 PM