A LOCAL priest has said that any form of violence against women is “never justified” after Fermanagh was named as one of the most dangerous places for a woman to live in Europe. The community was left shaken after the Herald revealed that six of the 42 females killed violently in the North, over the past eight years, […]
New job for pioneering Fermanagh priest Fr Gabriel
A PIONEERING priest from Fermanagh who is renowned for his work in the area of peace, reconciliation, and development, is to take up a new role in his home diocese. As part of a round of diocesan changes announced by Bishop of Clogher Larry Duffy this week, Fr Garbriel Dolan SPS is to become the […]
Clogher Diocese’s first priesthood entrant in six years
CLOGHER Diocese will welcome its first new member for the priesthood in six years this month. The former teacher, aged in his 20s, will be entering the propaedeutic (introductory) year of discernment in a few weeks. The propaedeutic year is a year of discovery during which a candidate for the priesthood receives an introduction to the […]
Fermanagh celebrates Auxiliary Bishop of Westminster
RECENTLY a Mass was held in St. Nailes Church, Kinawley, to celebrate the ordination of Bishop James Curry as Auxiliary Bishop of Westminster. The Mass was concelebrated by Fr Maurice McMorrow, parish priest of Kinawley, and Fr Gerry Comiskey, Parish Priest of Drumlane, along with Monsignor Martin Hayes Vicar General of the Diocese of Westminster, a […]
Fermanagh priest recalls the horror of Holy Cross
A FERMANAGH priest has reflected on the role he played in one of Northern Ireland’s most frightening sectarian standoffs after it was among 889 declassified government files released to the public last week. The Holy Cross Primary School dispute in 2001 made headlines around the world as loyalist residents staged protests against Catholic families walking their […]
Catholic bishops call on support to decriminalise drugs
BISHOPS in the North have said that treating drug use as a social, not a criminal issue, can help tackle the substance use crisis here. Ahead of last Thursday’s General Election, the bishops urged voters to press candidates to support drug decriminalisation and the creation of facilities to help addicts. In their Pastoral Reflection, the bishops, headed by All-Ireland […]
COLUMN:Michael Hand- Penny Lane may have saved my bacon
“COME out in the name of the Law” is a phrase I would associate with 1930’s black and white gangster movies. I still shudder with disbelief to think it was addressed to me as a nine-year-old boy. When I was at school in the 1960’s it was considered essential if you were to have any […]
COLUMN:Michael Hand-Don’t worry about what people think
ONE of the most recurrent phrases I heard my mother say when I was young was: “What will the neighbours think?” She often compared me to the children in other people’s families with the assumption that they were better behaved than me. I knew that in most cases they were not. It was a disease in […]
COLUMN: Michael Hand- Epidemic of anxiety in our world
THERE is an epidemic of anxiety in our world today. The majority of people that I see concerning their mental health are struggling with anxiety and looking for a tablet to take it away. Sadly no medication is effective long-term with anxiety. The first thing to say about anxiety is, anxiety is normal and most people […]
COLUMN: Michael Hand- It’s OK to be gay
I WAS speaking with a young man in his twenties recently who is gay and could not accept it; in fact, he said that he hated being gay and regrets that he is not heterosexual. This was not an isolated incident. I have come across quite a few gay people who struggle to accept their sexuality, yet […]