Michael Kelly

An Irish bishop, John McAreavey of Dromore, resigned March 1 after increased criticism over how he dealt with revelations of an abusive priest.

The Irish government announced it will hold a referendum in late May asking citizens whether they want to retain or delete the constitutional article that provides for the equal right to life of the mother and her unborn child "with due regard to the equal right to life of the mother."

Fr. Mark Patrick Hederman, former Benedictine abbot, urges Ireland's Association of Catholic Priests to quit arguing with bishops, engage laity, and join Francis' "velvet revolution."

Catholic families in a cross-community housing project in Belfast, Northern Ireland, have been forced to leave their homes after a sectarian threat, thought to be from Protestant paramilitaries.