Jimmy McPhillips, an ACP member in Clogher diocese, critiques the ACP and its website, and regrets that so few of priests’ real concerns are raised: frustration, absence of real leadership, low morale, depression and all the burdens of pastoral ministry. He suggests that ACP members meeting at local level in dioceses and Religious communities might help keep the leadership in touch with these core issues.
Tony Flannery shares some of his hopes and dreams for the Church after the election of Pope Francis (article written for the Connacht Tribune).
Eddie Finnegan asks why so few priests in the northern dioceses engage with the ACP
Eddie Finnegan probes the non-participation of the vast majority of Ireland’s parish priests on their ACP website, and ponders if a fear of clericalism is at its heart
Eddie Finnegan analyses postings to the ACP website (articles and comments) and finds ordinary diocesan priest-members in Ireland almost absent from its pages.
A week from now, the Rising Sun will have dawned on Easter Sunday morning. But before we reach that feast, we recall the suffering and death of the Lord, believing his sufferings brought him glory, a destiny we share.
The New York Times profiles Father Helmut Schüller, the ‘mild but rebellious priest’ who was part of the 2011 ‘Appeal to Disobedience’ by 400 priests in Austria. This initiative began with a small group of priests, talking about the problems faced by their parishes, about the lack of successors to take their places, and about the fusing of congregations.
(A version of this article appeared in print on March 23, 2013, on page A8 of the New York edition with the headline: With New Pope, Spotlight Returns to a Mild but Rebellious Priest.)
Mary Cunningham outlines the CDF’s controlling role in the silencing of Fr Sean Fagan, undermining Archbishop Charles Brown’s recent assertion that such actions are a matter for a religious priest’s superior
As the universal Church celebrates the Fifth Sunday of Lent and asks God’s blessings on our new pope, the Irish Church invokes the help of Patrick, our national apostle, on his springtime feastday: may the faith he taught always remain fresh in Ireland and wherever Irish missionaries carried it.
Padraig Haran, (Chairperson), Joe Connolly, (P.P.), Deirdre Meyler, Angela O’Sullivan, Pat Hannon, (P.C.), Mary Bond, Ken Spratt, Pat Reilly, (C.C.), Deborah McArdle and Alain Rochecouste, all members of Donabate Pastoral Council, deplore the CDF’s treatment of Fr Tony Flannery
Tony Flannery takes issue with Archbishop Charles Brown, the papal nuncio to Ireland, responding to an interview conducted by Mary Wilson on the RTE programme, ‘Drivetime’ on 15 March 2013
Brendan Hoban identifies the positive features of the new pope, suggesting he might be a new John XXIII — an unexpected appointment, who might surprise us all (first published in the Daily Mail of 14/3/2013).
Meath Diocesan ACP members report on their recent meeting in Navan.
Sean McDonagh highlights Patrick’s experience of forced migration and slavery, which would give the saint an understanding the plight of Ireland’s migrants today.
The report on their recent meeting submitted by the ACP in Kilmore diocese reveals disappointment with the Irish Hierarchy that they did not meet with the Leadership Team of the ACP — among other things.
Pádraig McCarthy notes the extreme inequality now visible in Irish society, where 1,200 people died as a result of fuel poverty last winter, yet the nation’s 300 wealthiest individuals saw their wealth increase massively in 2012. He finds church leaders almost silent on the matter and asks if the ACP should take it up, in line with the our consitiution.
Tony Flannery raises the questions over the protection of child abuser Maciel Degollado which remain unanswered — a major issue that the new Pope will need to deal with if he is to attempt to reform the Curia (article first published in the Irish Times on 11 March).
This weekend, the Church hears a call to rejoice: now that we have reached the midway point of Lent, the glory of Easter is so much closer. We renew our Lenten commitments and hasten towards the paschal celebrations.
The ACP Leadership Team reports on their recent meeting with members of Killaloe Priests Council in Ennis
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