Church leaders in Ireland are calling on the government to take the spiritual needs of the population into consideration, noting the country is the only one in Western Europe to continue to ban public worship due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ireland
Knock Shrine Receives New International Status on Feast of St. Joseph
Pope Francis officially announced Ireland’s Knock Shrine as an international Marian and Eucharistic shrine on the feast of St. Joseph on March 19.
Ireland Could See Massive Drop in Numbers Going to Mass After Pandemic
Ireland could see the number of Mass-going Catholics drop by nearly a quarter when the COVID-19 pandemic ends.
John Hume, Who Helped Bring Peace to Northern Ireland, Dies at 83
Archbishop Eamon Martin of Armagh, Northern Ireland, has hailed political leader John Hume as a “paragon of peace” for his key role in bringing an end to the conflict in Northern Ireland.
N. Ireland’s Experience May Offer Insight Into U.S. Policing Issues
The U.S. demonstrations over police aggression toward minorities has an antecedent in Northern Ireland, according to a police commander in Salinas, California, who spent the first 10 years of his life in Northern Ireland in the midst of “the Troubles” there, then later wrote his master’s thesis on the applicability of its policing reforms to the United States.
Young People Will Need to Help Get Churches Ready for Mass, Irish Archbishop Says
Ireland’s top prelate is calling on “the younger members of our parishes” to help manage the transition back to full parish life and celebration of the sacraments as the island eases out of the restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
Priests in Ireland Under Pressure to Celebrate Funeral Masses During the Pandemic
Despite regulations established by civil and ecclesiastical authorities to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, many priests in remote areas of Ireland are feeling pressure to celebrate funeral Masses. In rural parishes, funerals are “big occasions for the community,” according to Father Brendan Hoban, co-founder of the Irish Association of Catholic Priests.
Irish Church Confirms 1989 Miraculous Cure of Woman at Knock Shrine
The Catholic Church in Ireland has confirmed that a woman who was seriously ill with multiple sclerosis experienced a complete healing of all her symptoms at Knock shrine in September 1989.
Knock, Ireland Commemorates 140th Anniversary of Apparition
The Irish village of Knock is celebrating on Aug. 21 the 140th anniversary of “Apparition of Knock,” in which the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Joseph, St. John the Baptist and Jesus as the lamb of God appeared in the local church.
CEO Zuckerberg Confirms That Facebook Blocked Pro-Life Ads in Ireland
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has confirmed that the social media giant blocked Americans from posting ads supporting the right to life in Ireland during the election cycle before Ireland’s referendum last year that made abortion legal in that country.
