Where a Roman Catholic deacon ponders the world
Details: Patricia Wojnar left a 32-year career in interior design to pursue a degree that wasn’t in demand: a master’s in bereavement studies. Having seen four family members die early, she wanted to understand how to adapt. As it turned out, the degree perfectly prepared her to enter one of Ireland’s emerging professions. Wojnar is [...]
Not so long ago, this idea would have been unthinkable: Northern Ireland’s first shared education campus for Catholic and Protestant schoolchildren has been granted planning approval. Up to six schools with 3,700 pupils are expected to be based at a former Army barracks in Omagh, Co Tyrone, Stormont’s power-sharing government revealed today. The relic of [...]
From The Atlantic: A new 60,000-square-foot development is likely to generate friction in any urban setting, much less a mosque in the capital of a historically Catholic country. And yet a proposal to construct a multi-use Islamic center — including a three-story domed mosque, school, and fitness facility — in the north Dublin neighborhood of [...]
From Catholic News Agency: The Irish government has announced that it will introduce legislation on abortion that will legalize the procedure in cases where the mother’s life is at risk, drawing criticism pro-life advocates. Independent Irish Senator Ronan Mullen said in the Irish Senate that the move showed “no concern for unborn children” and was [...]
Details: A post-primary teacher, a bakery manager and a tool designer were among six men ordained as permanent deacons in Sligo on Saturday, a Catholic ministry which permits them to preside at funerals, celebrate Baptism and officiate at marriages. The new deacons, all married and in permanent employment, were ordained at Sligo cathedral by the [...]
Details: The debate over legalizing abortion in Ireland flared Wednesday after the government confirmed a miscarrying woman suffering from blood poisoning was refused a quick termination of her pregnancy and died in an Irish hospital. Prime Minister Enda Kenny said he was awaiting findings from three investigations into the death of Savita Halappanavar, an Indian [...]
Details: The first abortion clinic on the island of Ireland opened Thursday in downtown Belfast, unleashing angry protests on the street and uniting Catholic and Protestant politicians in calls to investigate the new facility. The clinic, run by the British family planning charity Marie Stopes, will be permitted to provide abortions only in exceptional circumstances [...]
Troubling news: The Republic of Ireland is abandoning religion faster than almost every other country worldwide, a massive global survey on faith reveals. Only Vietnam has seen a bigger drop in people declaring themselves to be religious over the past seven years, a period when the Catholic Church in Ireland has been rocked by sex-abuse [...]
From Sky News: For the first time, the Queen has stepped inside a Roman Catholic church on the island of Ireland in what is being seen as a hugely symbolic moment. It came as she visited the town of Enniskillen – the scene of one of the worst atrocities of The Troubles – during a [...]
“You are the heirs to a Church that has been a mighty force for good in the world, and which has given a profound and enduring love of Christ and his blessed Mother to many, many others. Your forebears in the Church in Ireland knew how to strive for holiness and constancy in their personal [...]
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