Belgian Catholics call for Reform
A new movement in Belgium: Click to read
A new movement in Belgium: Click to read
This account, prepared by the Leadership Team, describes the efforts at dialogue which the ACP have attempted with the Irish Bishops.
This piece was written by Brendan Hoban, on behalf of the Leadership Team of the ACP. It is our effort to state clearly where we stand as an association on some issues that are important, and hopefully to clear up some confusion.
Chris McDonnell, writing in the Catholic Times, pays tribute to Henri Nouwen and finds that one of his metaphors ‘with open hands’ to be ‘very pertinent to our present times. A few days back we saw pictures of Francis at Al Azhar mosque in Cairo where he embraced the mosque’s Grand Imam, Ahmad al-Tayeb, who urged the West not to hold an entire religion “accountable for the crimes of any small group of followers.” That image of greeting between a Christian and a Muslim runs counter to our populist press view of castigation of a whole people through the actions of a few.’
Sarah Mac Donald, writing in the National Catholic Reporter, gives an interesting account of the Irish bishops’ visit to Pope Francis.
“But while Francis was telling the bishops he wanted to hear their problems and criticisms, back in Ireland, the Association of Catholic Priests (ACP), … issued a statement expressing themselves as “disappointed, frustrated and angry” that, after six years of attempting to engage the bishops in a “respectful and mutual consideration of issues central to the health and well-being of the Irish Catholic church,” the bishops had “pulled the plug on any future engagement with the ACP.”
A clarification has come to the website regarding comments made here by Peter Byrne
The ACP Leadership Team report on their meeting with representatives of ACP members in Irish dioceses on 25 February