Fianna Fáil Minister of State for International Development and Diaspora, Sean Fleming, says he is “very honoured” to have been given a private audience with Pope Francis.
The meeting occurred during a visit to Rome and Vatican City on a diplomatic mission last week.
“I am very honoured to have a private audience with the Holy Father and to have the opportunity to recognise the role he and the Holy See plays in building peace,” Fleming said ahead of the trip, adding: “In an uncertain world, this work is more important than ever.”
He went on to highlight the deep historical connections between the Catholic faith and Irish culture.
“The people-to-people links between Ireland and Italy and the Vatican go back centuries,” he said.
Minister Fleming is also set to meet Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican Secretary of State, to discuss bilateral relations and geopolitical matters.
A God-inspired sense of hope is necessary in our schools to combat the shadow of nihilism, according to a leading Catholic educationalist.
Speaking to The Irish Catholic, Sr Anne Neylon DC, Primary Diocesan Advisor, said: “That sense of nihilism in our world is erasing hope”.
“To think that there are 250 million children globally without access to education is a terrible statistic. Some 250 million children and adolescents do not attend school.” She called on school leaders to remain “thirsty and have dreams.”
Ireland, Sr Anne said, has “a very good education system,” but faith must also be nurtured personally. “Taking personal responsibility for faith, taking time to reflect, and believing that God loves me as I am – it’s that simple.”
She also praised the example of saints, particularly Carlo Acutis, who she believes will inspire the young. “We need to avoid pessimism – it comes from secularism,” she said.
While acknowledging challenges in Ireland, including school closures, Sr Anne pointed the importance of collaboration between culture and education. “It takes each one of us to be responsible in our faith… The voice of God must be heard.”
Italy’s criminalising of surrogacy both at home and abroad could be replicated in other nations, according to experts.
“Italy is an example to follow for other countries,” Bernard Garcia Larrain, a lawyer and international anti-surrogacy advocate, told CNA.
Garcia Larrain is the coordinator of the Casablanca Declaration, an international group calling for the abolition of surrogacy worldwide.
On Oct. 16, Italy’s Senate passed a bill making it possible to prosecute Italian citizens for pursuing surrogacy abroad. The practice was already a crime within Italian borders.
Garcia Larrain told CNA that national regulation of surrogacy is not enough, because surrogacy “is a global market,” which is why the group he coordinates is calling for its universal abolition for the protection of children and women.
In the meantime, however, the lawyer said Italy has taken a good first step that he hopes other countries will follow.
The incoming Government need to prioritise end of life care and not legislate for ‘assisted suicide’, the Catholic hierarchy has said in a statement following their latest quarterly meeting.
They urged newly elected TDs “to promote the dignity of every human person and the common good at all times”.
“We appeal [to] them to uphold human life at all its stages, and to prioritise the provision of palliative care for people living with chronic and terminal illness.”
The Bishops added: “Assisted suicide, far from being an expression of autonomy, is a failure of care. By legislating for assisted suicide or euthanasia, the State would contribute to undermining the confidence of people who are terminally ill, who want to be cared for and want to live life as fully as possible until death naturally comes.
“In our culture, we rightly hold doctors and nurses in high esteem because they are presumed always to be at the service of life, for as long as their patient lives. We call on Catholics to stand firmly in support of nurses and doctors who stand for life.”
An Irish commentator who voted for same-sex marriage and to repeal the 8th Amendment, but is also a Mass-goer, has highlighted the amount of on-line abuse she receives because of her Mass-going.
Writing in The Irish Independent today, Ellen Coyne says: “Some of the nastiest abuse I’ve ever gotten online was from people on the left who were mocking my faith. In a truly secular society that has thankfully moved on from our traumatising past, I don’t understand how a person’s religion is fair game for derision”.
She also says that politicians should not be forced to disregard their faith when forming views on matters of conscience.
She says that too many people only see religion as “a corrupting influence on Irish politicians”.
Ms Coyne notes that it would be “egregiously cruel” for any TD to feel “under pressure to lie about the influence that religion can have on their personal principles”.
“But on an issue as profound as assisted dying, it’s right and proper for a politician to consult their conscience and consider the influence that their religion may have on that”.
Coyne is the author of ‘Are You There, God? It’s Me, Ellen’.
MPs opposing an ‘assisted dying’ bill have launched a rearguard action to toughen up safeguarding measures in the draft legislation and avoid a “stitch-up”. The aim of the bill is to allow those within six months of death to kill themselves with a lethal drug given to them by a doctor.
Senior Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat figures who voted against the landmark bill last Friday are demanding to be included in the group of MPs responsible for considering potential amendments.
They have written to Kim Leadbeater, the Labour backbencher whose bill passed its first parliamentary hurdle with a majority of 55 at the second reading stage.
In a bid to keep up pressure on the issue, opponents of the bill have urged Leadbeater to appoint eight leading critics to the committee that will scrutinise the bill over the coming five months. Among those who want to be included are Rachael Maskell, a former Labour shadow minister, and Tory MP, Danny Kruger, who was the first to speak against Leadbeater’s bill in last Friday’s debate.
The public bill committee will call witnesses, ask for written evidence and go through the bill line by line, making space on it hotly contested by those seeking to toughen up the legislation.
The Chilean Senate has banned public funding of surgical or hormonal interventions to ‘transition ‘ under 18s.
The vote took place following a report that strongly recommended the immediate suspension of all programs related to “sex reassignment” of children.
The report investigated the PAIG program, a government policy aimed at Chileans suffering with gender dysphoria.
From the report: “The PAIG is implemented in 37 hospitals in the country and the psychosocial pairs have the power to carry out family interventions, within educational spaces, referral to hormone therapies, as well as the power to take legal action against ‘resistant parents’ who oppose the gender transition of their children or seek greater prudence when advancing in the different stages of it.”
Tomás Henríquez, of ADF International welcomed the move saying it “sets a major precedent for the protection of children not just in Chile, but also in all Latin American countries”.
“Now, other countries must do the same. Every child is precious just as they are and has the absolute right to be safeguarded from a radical ideology that promotes dangerous drugs and surgeries with devastating consequences.”
A bishop has expressed alarm that the chapel in Mountjoy prison in Dublin is to be repurposed, rendering it out-of-action for 8 weeks.
The chapel will be closed for remodelling to create space for “video link capacity”.
Bishop Martin Hayes released a strong statement condemning the lack of consultation and timing of the move.
He said there has not been appropriate consultation with prisoners or with prison chaplains regarding the project and the unilateral approach “runs counter to maintaining harmonious and respectful relations in our prison community”.
“I can only conclude that, arising from the approach taken and speed of action, that prisoners’ rights in Mountjoy – in terms of their freedom of religious expression – have been suppressed by authorities. As the holy season of Advent leading up to Christmas begins this Sunday, the timing of this decision is particularly poignant”.
A Franciscan College in Aleppo, Syria, was heavily damaged by a Russian attack on Sunday.
Russia supports Syrian Leader Bashar al Assad and the bombings were in response to Jihadist rebels overrunning the city.
The college is located in an inner section of a Franciscan monastery near the church where Mass was scheduled to be celebrated later that evening.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani instructed Italy’s Ambassador to Moscow, Cecilia Piccioni, to meet with Russian officials to request a stop to new military strikes on religious institutions or civilian structures.
On Monday, Bishop Hanna Jallouf, OFM, apostolic vicar of Aleppo since July 2023, said that the situation is now “a little calmer”.
“Yesterday, they bombed Terra Santa College, inflicting serious material damage but without casualties. Now the picture is quieter, even if people continue to be afraid of Russian missiles falling on our heads,” said Bishop Jallouf.
To some extent, the bishop knows the rebel groups who have seized the city since he spent years in Idlib. “They treated us with respect and so far they have not harmed any Christian. On the contrary, the order is to respect our rites, our churches, even our clothes,” he said.
There’s been a call for the new European Commission to work collaboratively to alleviate the continent’s demographic crisis with fertility rates across Europe far below replacement level.
Speaking on the challenges ahead, President Ursula von der Leyen highlighted the urgent need for solutions to demographic shifts, stating: “We must work to tackle the issues facing our regions, from demographic changes to climate change to the need for modern infrastructure. This is the essence of the freedom I speak about today.”
In response, the Federation of Catholic Family Associations in Europe (FAFCE) commended this focus and called on the European Commission “to adopt policies that place families at the centre of social cohesion and sustainable development”.
“As Europe continues to face the realities of a demographic winter, FAFCE urges the Commission to prioritise intergenerational solidarity, family-friendly workplaces, and support for parents and caregivers”, they added.
