An open letter circulating among people of faith in Ireland demands that the government commit to “never again impose a blanket ban on public worship.” The letter, addressed to the Taoiseach (prime minister), calls on the government to respect “the fundamental right of freedom of religion” in accordance with the Irish constitution and international law;

A long read by Michael Duggan on the Irish novelist, Francis MacManus, who "could write about the Catholic faith in a way that was tender but committed, welcoming 'the winds and rains of grace which blow from eternity through the gates of the sacraments upon the human creatures of this narrow world'."

Beginning on May 10, the government will allow religious services to resume, with a limit of 50 people in attendance, regardless of the size of the worship space or whether worshippers have been vaccinated.

"Recent developments that penalise the celebration of Holy Mass have been disturbing not only to the Irish Bishops’ Conference but also to the Bishops of Scotland," says Bishop Hugh Gilbert, President of the Bishops' Conference of Scotland. "We all recognise the need for restrictions to protect the common good of all people in a pandemic but to enact legislation that criminalises those who gather to celebrate Holy Mass is indeed extreme and unjust."

The Best Catholics in the World is an account of Ireland’s Catholic past and above all the legacy of the scandals and how we should deal with them.

For a century, modern Irish Catholic writers have pushed against their faith 
– and yet drawn on it, too

Bishops have urged the Irish government to ease restrictions on public worship as the country’s severest restrictions plan to be eased.

CNA Staff, Mar 4, 2021 / 05:30 pm MT (CNA).- As Ireland marks the first anniversary of the novel coronavirus arriving, local Catholic bishops are calling for the government to ease its restrictions on in-person worship services.