Fr Peter Byrne CSsR issues statement
A contributer to this website signed himself as Peter Byrne. Fr. Peter Byrne C.Ss.R. has stated clearly that he is not the author of such comments and wishes to be dissassociated from them.
Tim Hazelwood, reflecting on his own experiences, questions the role and function of the ‘Council of Priests’ in dioceses.
Tim feels this is of particular relevance in light of the letter from the bishops to the ACP following a meeting last May.
Tim says that ‘My experience is that the Council of Priests does not want to deal with the concerns of priests…… For diocesan priests the council is irrelevant in our lives. We get on with it as best we can as the work and weight of expectation grows, dreading the next edict to come from the council or the diocesan office to add to our busy work schedule.’
Our AGM is still attracting interest with Sarah MacDonald writing in the National Catholic Reporter about the ‘advice card’ for priests that has been published by the ACP and the introduction of “Healing Circles”.
Mary Vallely, from Armagh, is raising the question as to why we have an association for priests only. Should we not have one made up of priests and people together?
The Annual General Meeting of the ACP will take place at the Buccaneers Rugby Clubhouse in Athlone on Tuesday, 07 November, 2017, from 2.00pm to 5.00pm, in The Bounty, Dubarry Park, Athlone, Co Westmeath.
Brendan Hoban reflects on unhappy bishops and scrupulous priests — and invites people to re-discover the wonder of God’s love, following the example of Pope Francis (first published in the Western People).
Stan Mellett shares some thoughts on the importance of having a pastoral approach to funeral rites “when the increasingly normal experience is a funeral for one who has long since lost touch with the church, had ceased to practice the faith and been in an irregular marital situation,”
“People who have little contact with church – uneasy with ceremony and ritual – anxious and uneasy about protocol, any effort to accommodate and accompany them through the Wake, funeral Mass and burial/cremation is a service not to be underestimated; an important pastoral opportunity not to be missed.”
It was I who assumed that it was the respected Redemptorist Fr Peter Byrne, who wrote what I considered, was a despicable attack on his brother Priest Fr Tony. For that I offer Fr Peter my sincere apology and seek his forgiveness. The opening lines of the offending post “Our Redemptorist Constitution” made me believe it was written by Fr Peter. Again I request your forgiveness, and with a contrite heart, will have a mass celebrated for your intensions.
This clarification once again urges me to ask the team leaders at the ACP to reconsider again the way comments are allowed to be put on your website-comments which are often posted under false names or anonymous names.
I think it serves no purpose or rather it serves a negative purpose.
Firstly it discourages most of your ACP members and others from engaging actively with the site -that is people who would be happy to be identified and secondly it encourages a level of abuse that is not constructive or helpful to many of the debates.
Indeed who wants to engage in a dialogue with someone when they have no way of knowing who they are corresponding with or what their agenda is ?
Surely allowing a dialogue to take place in this way resembles how the CDF engaged with Tony Flannery.
Need I say more.
I second Anne Walsh’s plea. The level of discussion would soar if people gave their real names.
And I would add to that, how about contributors offering their email address. Identity and openness are of great value in honest exchanges.
So…I have the same name as a redemptorist and was quoting from their constitutions.
I had no intention of attempting to imitate Fr. Peter.