March 3 2018 - Association Of Catholic Priests

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03 March: Sat. of Week 2 of Lent

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5 comments
Brendan Hoban: History shows that tradition is not sacrosanct
June 28 2026
Sean O'Conaill
The root of the church's malaise - the inability to focus 'mission' - is the preoccupation with internal church problems and 'managing decline' - failing to observe in the secular world an even greater crisis and the obvious cause of that. This is the universal root human problem of self doubt that leads to status anxiety - the pursuit of self-approval through social approval - via achievement and accumulation, the root of grotesque economic inequality, of violence - and now of a global climatic crisis. Not until bishops observe - and correctly diagnose - this ongoing and parallel world secular crisis can the relevance of the Gospel - and the church's obvious mission - it's 'relevance' - be clearly seen. That current world crisis has a simple single cause that was diagnosed in the Gospel: The 'worldliness' of the Gospel is simply the 'status anxiety' of our own - and every era - the fear we humans have of the judgment of others if we do not compete 'successfully'. Until the revelation of the clerical abuse catastrophe torpedoed the church's own power pyramid we had clerical worldliness in Ireland - at it's most grotesque Father Ted's need to win the Eurovision song contest and the 'Priest of the Year' competition - a burlesquing of the actual 'singing' or 'trendy' Irish priest who could get on TV. That neediness for social acclaim was never identified as 'worldliness' - the competitive ethos that lies at the root of mass poverty, the 'upwardly mobile' society - and now of the scapegoating of immigrants. An obvious corollary of status anxiety is a desperate fear of shame - and that is what led to the hierarchical hiding of abuse, as well as the scapegoating of the truly unfortunate - young women and children among them. If Irish bishops had squarely faced the challenge of the Ryan and Murphy reports of 2009 they would have seen that bishops' fears of loss of reputation exactly matched secular fears of never making it in the competition for social status - and been able more than a decade ago to preach the relevance of the Creed to that problem. It's not too late. The church will always be in decline if it cannot see the relevance of its own story to the problem of 'downsizing' that every 'rich' society on earth is now faced with - beginning with the insight that Jesus faced that same challenge - of 'overcoming the world' - and showed us the only gateway through it. Paradoxically this gathering world secular crisis will soon be the church's salvation - as more and more people look for alternatives to accumulation and 'grandstanding'. All we need to do is look outward now, pray - and see the gift we have in Christian faith - and wake up!
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3 comments
Vatican News: Pope’s final appeal to Society of Saint Pius X: Do not tear the seamless garment of Christ
June 30 2026
Joe O'Leary
Someone on Facebook wrote: "Vatican 2 can certainly be undone. Please tell me why can it not?" A moment's reflection suggested this answer: "Because Vatican II is the fully mature fruit of all that the church has thought and done since Vatican I, especially: 1. the rise of social doctrine and its many practical implications, since Leo XIII, 1891; , 2. the biblical movement; 3. the liturgical movement; 4. the ecumenical movement; 5. the reflection on Judaism in light of the Holocaust; 6. the harvest of missionary experience and of dialogue and coexistence with Hinduism, Buddhism, etc.; 7. the ongoing appreciation of Democracy (first given an unambiguously positive assessment by Pius XII in 1943); 8. the renewal of theology by the ressourcement movement -- Henri de Lubac, Yves Congar, Jean Daniélou, with special reference to Ecclesiology and Mariology; 9. the lessons of the Modernist Crisis, including reflection on Development of Doctrine in light of Newman's thought. What the SSPX most hates about Vatican II is its friendliness to Judaism and to Democracy."
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2 comments
Seán O’Conaill: If the Creed is Forgotten …?
June 30 2026
Sean O'Conaill
'The two communities' in that comment would be better as something like 'Discontented urban minorities from the two communities' - but the point is well taken: there is a huge danger these times of the NI extremes combining in the scapegoating of immigrants. René Girard's insights are far from unknown in Northern Ireland. One of his early collaborators, the Dutchman Roel Kaptein, came to NI early in the Troubles - to the peacebuilding centre at Corrymeela, Co. Antrim and formed a group there to help build mutual understanding. It included Derick Wilson and Duncan Morrow - who both became influential in the peace movement there - resulting in a continuing programme called 'Nurturing Hope'. https://www.nurturinghope.net/resources I myself introduced Michael Kirwan's book 'Discovering Girard' to a progressive Christian interdenominational group, meeting in Belfast, some years ago - and found a ready response. My guess is that the recent events in Belfast have not gone unanalysed - using Girardian insights - by those who continue to work tirelessly for peace in NI, including prominent members of the Alliance Party. Girard also believed in 'positive mimesis' - especially the ability of those who suffer injustice to model 'carrying one's cross' - and thereby to act as a brake on the escalation of intercommunal tension. Outstanding examples of that have been Gordon Wilson, Presbyterian father of Marie Wilson who died in the Enniskillen bombing of 1987, and Michael McGoldrick, Catholic, whose son, also Michael, was shot dead by the LVF in 1996. I got to know Michael when he came once to Coleraine to promote a charity he joint-led - called 'United Christian Aid' - and that has been unforgettable. Christian forbearance is being modelled in NI also therefore - also often working interdenominationally on behalf of immigrants. I hope and pray for it to win out.
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1 comments
Séamus Ahearne: Weekly Ramblings…
July 1 2026
M G-B
"Very often people cannot ever believe that this person, or such people could do such things." On this subject, I give a thank you to Frank G. Morrisey, OMI (1936-2020) a world leading expert in Canon Law. This saintly man was a Vatican advisor but made himself available to ordinary folk. He saw me immediately when I requested to see him. I was a student at St. Paul university (Ottawa) at this time and he was a professor there. He said that many of us raised in Catholic families were not aware of sexual abuse and that he understood how painful it was to accept this reality. Today we are bombarded with stories of sexual abuse. Fr. Frank Morrisey pray for us!
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