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Prime Time - Unaccompanied Drivers, Mary McAleese, Russian Spy At

New legislation could see the owners of cars fined or even jailed if an unaccompanied learner driver is caught driving their vehicle. Road Safety have accepted the claim but will critics make life impossible in parts of rural Ireland? Former president Ma

Prime Time • 16 Mar 18

Today's report was a voluntary audit of 135 orders, congregations and missionary societies

'Significant' church child safeguarding weaknesses

Five Catholic religious orders have been criticised by a Tusla audit for their "significant (child) safeguarding weaknesses".

Ireland • 20 Feb 18

Irishwoman Marie Collins, who was raped by a hospital chaplain at the age of 13, quit the panel in March last year in protest at what she said was the "shameful" blocking of reforms

Vatican revives pope's sexual abuse panel

The Vatican says it has renewed its anti-paedophile panel as Pope Francis acts to quell the global scandal over the sexual abuse of children by priests.

World • 18 Feb 18

Archbishop Eamon Martin urged Catholics to resist what he called "strong pressures to remain silent"

Martin urges Catholics to speak out on abortion

The leader of the Catholic Church in Ireland, Archbishop Éamon Martin, has urged believers to respectfully lobby their public representatives not to proceed with the proposed relaxation of the Republic's abortion laws.

Ireland • 07 Jan 18

Cardinal Bernard Law resignation send shockwaves through the Catholic church

Cardinal at centre of Boston abuse scandal dies

Cardinal Bernard Law, the former archbishop of Boston who became a symbol of the Catholic church's worldwide sexual abuse scandals, has died aged 86.

religion • 20 Dec 17

Fr Shay Cullen has been proposed four times for the Nobel Peace Prize

Irish priest among nominees for the Nobel Peace Prize

Pope Francis and a foundation established by an Irish priest to free Filipino children and women from sex traffickers have both been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize which will be awarded in Oslo tomorrow morning.

Analysis and Comment • 05 Oct 17

The bishops held their regular autumn meeting at St Patrick's in Maynooth

Bishops urge Government to speed up alcohol Bill

Catholic bishops have urged the Government to speed up the passage of the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill 2015 saying that its proposals on price, labelling, advertising would significantly reduce alcohol consumption.

Ireland • 04 Oct 17

Regensburg Cathedral Sparrows school dates back over 1,000 years

German abuse victims speak of 'hell' at choir school

Teachers at one of Germany's most famous Catholic choir schools physically or sexually abused 547 pupils between 1945 and 2015, an independent report has found, with some boys likening the institution to a concentration camp.

World • 19 Jul 17

(L-R) Walter Brandmueller, Raymond Burke, Carlo Caffarra and Joachim Meisner

Conservative cardinals step up challenge to Pope

Four conservative cardinals who have publicly challenged Pope Francis over his reforms of Catholic Church teaching have published a letter escalating the row.

World • 20 Jun 17

Eamon Martin said 'It is simply not true that the Catholic Church has a desire to create a theocracy in Ireland'

Archbishop says good done by church being forgotten

The Catholic Primate of All Ireland, Archbishop Eamon Martin, has said decades of service by countless Irish religious sisters and priests to the education and healthcare of people in Ireland and globally is being almost obliterated by a revised and narrow narrative that religious ethos cannot be go

Ireland • 09 May 17

Bishop made his remarks during homily at the annual Chrism Mass at St John's Cathedral in Limerick

Bishop calls on church to find 'new directions'

The Bishop of Limerick has said the Catholic Church can find "light and new directions" if it listens closely to why so many people who registered as Catholics in last year's census do not connect with the Church.

Ireland • 13 Apr 17

Three orders have not really changed performance in dealing with abuse

Head of Norbertine order did not respond to NBSCCCI

The Catholic Church-backed watchdog on child sexual abuse has said the global leadership of the Norbertine order, of which the paedophile priest Brendan Smyth was a member, has failed to respond to its correspondence over the past three years.

News • 06 Apr 17

A watchdog report last week showed the Catholic Church owes money it promised to surviors of institutional abuse

Kenny calls on Catholic Church to 'get on with' redress

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has called on the Catholic Church and its congregations to "measure up" in relation to the compensation they owe to survivors of abuse, and "get on with it".

Ireland • 13 Mar 17

Pope Francis said allowing priests in training to choose whether or not to be celibate was 'not the solution'

Pope Francis may consider making married men priests

Pope Francis has said in an interview published today that the Catholic Church may consider ordaining married men who could potentially then work in remote areas faced with a shortage of priests.

News • 10 Mar 17

Dr Martin said the church ostracised, stigmatised and isolated unwed mothers

Irish Catholic church leader says Tuam find 'appalling'

Catholic Primate of Ireland Archbishop Eamon Martin has said the findings at the site of the Tuam mother and baby home "allows us to peer into the past" and it is a past that many in the church are ashamed of.

News • 09 Mar 17

'Drive-thru' Ash Wednesday at Galway church

A church in Co Galway is marking the start of Lent with a novel approach to Ash Wednesday.

News • 01 Mar 17

Religious-run schools to be transferred to new multi or non-denominational patrons

Catholic Church welcomes school divestment plan

The Catholic Church has welcomed new plans to address the lack of diversity in the primary education system.

News • 30 Jan 17

Diarmuid Martin encouraged people to pray that the Pope will come here for the WMOF next August

Pope to address controversial issues in Dublin

Archbishop Diarmuid Martin has said that Pope Francis has told him he will be addressing issues at the World Meeting of Families here next year in the context of the hotly-debated message of the bishops' global synod on the family and in light of "difficulties Ireland has gone through".

News • 17 Jan 17

Pope Francis has made a more inclusive and forgiving church a characteristic of his papacy

Pope extends power to forgive abortion to priests

Pope Francis has allowed all Roman Catholic priests the power to forgive abortion, a power previously reserved for bishops or special confessors.

News • 21 Nov 16

Diarmuid Martin was speaking at the launch of preparations for the World Meeting of Families in St Patrick's College in Drumcondra

Joe Little: Martin's warning on defining family

Archbishop Diarmuid Martin has warned the Catholic Church here not to get entangled in trying to define the family in the lead-up to a global church meeting on the topic in Dublin 2018.

Analysis and Comment • 22 Oct 16

On 3 March, a Day of Prayer for the survivors and victims of clerical sexual abuse will be held

Day of Prayer for clerical abuse survivors planned

In a radical policy shift, the Catholic bishops in Ireland are to organise a Day of Prayer for the survivors and victims of clerical sexual abuse on the first Friday of Lent next year.

News • 06 Oct 16

A review of the complaints structure at Maynooth is being carried out

Reports on Maynooth not representative - Connolly

President of Maynooth Monsignor Hugh Connolly has said he has no reason to believe there are students attending the seminary who are not living a celibate life.

News • 05 Aug 16

Archbishop Diarmuid Martin is moving Dublin seminarians to Rome

Maynooth could be 'damaged' by Martin decision

A member of the Association of Catholic Priests has criticised Archbishop Diarmuid Martin's decision to transfer three seminarians to Rome.

News • 03 Aug 16

Pilgrims make their way home after the outdoor Mass

2.15m pilgrims attend papal mass in Poland

Pope Francis has wrapped up his visit to Poland with a huge outdoor mass in the city of Krakow.

News • 02 Aug 16

It is too early to know if Pope Francis will come to the meeting in 2018

Dates for probable papal visit announced

The approximate dates for a papal visit to Ireland have been published with the announcement that Pope Francis has decided that the World Meeting of Families will be held in Dublin in late August 2018.

News • 24 May 16