Declan McSweeney, Author at Catholic Herald

Declan McSweeney

Ireland faces biggest Diocesan restructuring in 900 years

April 16, 2024

A reduction in the number of bishops in the West of Ireland is part of the most radical restructuring of Irish Church governance in nine centuries. The key changes made in a 10 April announcement by Argentinian-born Archbishop Luis Montemayorm, Papal Nuncio to Ireland, and which mark the biggest change in diocesan structures since the 12th

Let them finally have a Christian burial: Captain Robert Nairac and last of the ‘Disappeared’ from Northern Ireland’s Troubles

April 08, 2024

Archbishop Eamon Martin of Armagh has reiterated his ongoing call for action to finally retrieve the remains of Northern Ireland’s last few “Disappeared”: four men killed by the IRA during the Troubles, whose bodies have never been found. The Catholic Church in Northern Ireland recalls these men each year at a special Mass, which is

Does Leo Varadkar’s surprise resignation as Ireland’s first gay Taoiseach show he underestimated the Catholic Church?

March 21, 2024

The news that Leo Varadkar is to step down as Ireland’s Taoiseach (prime minister) once his Fine Gael party selects a new leader, will give rise to reflection among the country’s Catholics about whether his successor will bring any changes to current Church-State relations. Varadkar had a complex relationship with the Catholic Church, after making

Northern Ireland’s evangelical Catholics reveal a ‘more varied and complex’ religious situation

March 12, 2024

The significant number of evangelical Catholics in Northern Ireland stands out in a recent survey conducted for the Evangelical Alliance in Northern Ireland (EANI), with 38 per cent of practising Catholics describing themselves as such. The survey by Savanta ComRes represents the most comprehensive survey of religious identification, practice and viewpoints across Northern Ireland in two decades, notes national broadcaster RTÉ.

Ireland’s vocations crisis reflects lack of ‘initiative’ and ‘evasion of issue’ by Church

February 01, 2024

The Irish Catholic Church was seen for generations as the jewel in the crown of the English-speaking clerical world. Scores of parishes in Great Britain owed their development to Irish priests. The same applied in the United States, Australia and in many mission lands throughout Africa and elsewhere. Ireland boasted many seminaries, with the main

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