Bishop John McAreavey, Bishop of Dromore and chair of the Council for Justice & Peace of the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference, today presented to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, on the subject of ‘The ongoing Persecution of Christians’.  Bishop McAreavey’s delegation included: Father Timothy Bartlett, an advisor to the Bishops’ Council […]

Seven Catholic social justice groups have today issued a joint appeal to Government for a change in direction in the forthcoming budget to bring us closer to creating a society where respect for the dignity of every person, fairness, solidarity and the common good are the key underpinning values.

“As we approach the second anniversary of the publication of the Murphy Report, I want to acknowledge the impact of the findings of such reports on the wider Church community … It is also important to state that as bishops, as human beings, we too know and experience that anger, that disappointment, that bewilderment and pain in our struggle to provide listening and leadership through this time of enormous challenge” – Bishop Treanor

Cutting Sunday premium pay will further undermine the vital recognition of Sunday as a day of rest and, for many in our society, a sacred day of prayer.

PRESS RELEASE 14 April 2011 Northern Ireland Catholic Council on Social Affairs (NICCOSA) hosts a discussion on the common good ahead of elections in Northern Ireland ‘Over 100, 000 children in Northern Ireland live in poverty. This is unacceptable. For every citizen the horror of this poverty deserves to be a key issue in determining […]

PRESS RELEASE 1 December 2010 Addresses by Bishop Noel Treanor and Mr Cormac Wilson, at launch of Challenging Poverty in Northern Ireland, Belfast City Hall Let me take this opportunity to appeal for a new mobilisation of voluntary participation to tackle poverty in our society – Bishop Treanor   I am appealing to you today […]

PRESS RELEASE25 November 2009 Bishops’ Commission for Justice and Social Affairs calls for new measures to protect women from the violence of trafficking The United Nations has declared today, 25 November 2009, as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Gender-based violence is devastating the lives of millions of women at home […]

PRESS RELEASE 25 September 2009 Seminar on Violence in Irish Society “There is a clear need for all of us to actively engage with [the problem of violence] … As a society we need to replace a culture of violence with a renewed sense of justice, responsibility and community. We need to rediscover values that […]

PRESS RELEASE 12 June 2009 Archbishop Diarmuid Martin launches Who is my Neighbour? Today at Veritas House, Lower Abbey St., Dublin, Most Rev Diarmuid Martin, Archbishop of Dublin, launched the publication Who is My Neighbour? from the Irish Commission for Justice and Social Affairs (ICJSA). This book is based on the papers delivered at the […]

PRESS RELEASE 19 January 2009 Embargoed until 1pm ICJSA launches position paper In the Wake of the Celtic Tiger: Poverty in Contemporary Ireland We caution that those who benefited least from the progress of recent years will pay the heaviest price – ICJSA National Development Plan for People urgently required – SVP The Irish Commission […]