“My brother and I were both altar boys, we both served Mass. It was soon clear to us, first to me and then to him, that our life would be at the service of the Church” – Msgr Georg Ratzinger
"Let us not forget the efforts that lie ahead," said Ireland's Church leaders quoting the British prime minister Winston Churchill.
“I call upon all parties to fan the flame of dialogue and self-control – and to banish the shadow of enmity,” said Pope Francis.
"These baptized are martyrs. They have not betrayed the Gospel," - Cardinal Sarah.
Peace cannot and should not be taken for granted and is a precious value that requires cultivation and tending in every generation.
“For me, returning home is like being reborn. I can’t even begin to describe the joy I am feeling," - Elias Ghattas.
For the eighth year running, ACN is providing Christmas parcels for displaced children, including warm clothes, shoes, toys, devotional items and other essentials.
Millions of Yemeni people can’t afford food, water, medicines and other basic essentials, and are now reliant on the support of international organisations like Trócaire.
“With every contract signed, every meal provided and every diploma granted, Sr Orla Treacy advances the status of women and the cause of peace in South Sudan.”
In Syria there is no place for the usual consumerist frenzy, so the lights of the Christmas tree and the Christmas crib have once more become a sign of salvation. Aid to the Church in Need charity, which works with people in Syria, stated that many families there are in makeshift shelters, just like the Holy Family in Bethlehem.
"This day is a sacred day, the day we created an autocephalous local Orthodox Church. It is a day of final independence from Russia." – Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.
On a visit to region devastated by war, Archbishop Eamon Martin appeals to Christians to support Trócaire Christmas appeal which “eases people’s suffering and allows them to dream of brighter days ahead”.
Ongoing conflict sees Yemen suffering the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.
The vast majority of the 300,000 men from this island who served in the “war to end all wars” were Catholics, as were the majority of the more than 49,000 Irishmen who died in the conflict.
Globally, 124 million people are suffering from acute hunger and, in some cases, starvation – an increase from 80 million two years ago.
"Poverty anywhere constitutes a danger to prosperity everywhere." - President Michael D Higgins
“The pilgrimage will be a witness to hope and will enable us to forge even greater friendships and work yet harder for peace together in the future.”
Trócaire appeals to public to send ‘SOS for Syria’ to Irish government.
“Courageous and decisive plans and sufficient funding to overcome the suffering and the deprivation of those who live on the precarious margins of society” is needed, Archbishop stresses.
Shalom Centre invited by UN to discuss possible strategic contributions it can make in helping with the creation of Africa's Great Green Wall.
The adoption of the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons has been warmly welcomed by Uachtarán na hÉireann, Michael D Higgins.
In a statement coinciding with the opening up of the treaty for signature by the heads of national governments around the world, President Higgins hailed it as ‘the [...]
According to Dublin diocesan archivist, Noelle Dowling, some of the material on display on Friday night includes photographs and letters of thanks and appreciation from Vietnam, which suffered devastation during 20 years of war from 1955 until 1975.
Over half a million suspected cholera cases and twenty million people in need of aid in beleaguered state.
“Your lifestyle will be a protest against the stifling hedonism that is presented as the best we can hope for. Belief in God is not repression of our dignity but an invitation to the individual greatness that is God’s dream for each of us.”
“Being unarmed does seem to suggest that, as a matter of policy, Gardaí will seek to respond to crime in a non-violent way. By doing this, they contribute to reducing the level of violence, rather than escalating it.”
Fr Shay Cullen describes Hugh O’Flaherty International Humanitarian Award as “a statement that all life is precious ... and each has invaluable dignity and every one is worth saving”.
Organised by the Society of Missionary Children, this year's event takes place on 14 October at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Sligo.
All religions “desire peace. Other people want war,” Pope tells journalists en route to WYD in Krakow.
Their use can "never be morally justified" because of huge loss of innocent life.
"There is a risk of genocide in South Sudan. Write it in large letters, so that someone from the international community intervenes before it is too late," is appeal from local Church.
