The Association of Catholics in Ireland (ACI) has issued a comprehensive report on the proceedings of their conference Future Families: Challenges for Faith and Society, held in anticipation of the World Meeting of Families 2018 planned for Dublin in August.
ACI challenges the WMOF to reflect the realities of family life today.
Brendan Hoban, writing in the Western People, looks at the continuing fall out from the recent referendum on the eighth amendment and expresses concern at a ‘moral triumphalism and political totalitarianism (that) has no place in public discourse.’
….
“if this is the new Ireland then God help those who disagree with the emerging consensus. It won’t hold a candle to the control and oppressiveness of the Catholic past, and that’s saying something.”
Pádraig McCarthy draws our attention to the preparatory document: “Amazonia: New Paths for the Church and for an Integral Ecology” of the Synod of Bishops for the Special Assembly for the Pan-Amazon Region.
Brian Fahy offers a reflection for the Feast of the Sacred Heart.
“That statue [of the Sacred Heart] represents the human form of the Lord and it is in his body that he came to bring God’s love home to me. That body enjoyed the warmth of this world and endured its bitter cold.”
We Are Church Ireland launched a petition calling on Pope Francis to change Vatican theological language that is gravely insulting to LGBTQI people.
Patrick Burke is curate in Westport, Co. Mayo and is Pastoral Co-ordinator of Clare Island and Inishturk.
“The Pastoral Councils on both islands are vital to the life of the parish. They meet regularly, I’m only present occasionally. ….. In many ways they are an example of what we are now trying to do on the mainland – lay led ministry.”
Seamus Ahearne celebrates his 21 years in Rivermount Parish in Finglas.
“We have created space for Voices. We have given confidence to people. We watch people grow and speak out of their own lives.”
Chris McDonnell writing in the Catholic Times reminds us that despite the many forms in which the written word can be expressed ” it is the spoken word that is our basic currency of exchange.”
“In our own times, we have been continually reminded by Francis that conversation is important, that listening is part of understanding. That is why within parishes open conversation leads to involvement and pastoral care, one for another. …. we must not give up seeking conversation that is honest and purposeful.”
The experience of Corpus Christi in Portugal, still celebrated on Thursday and a state holiday, gets Seamus Ahearne thinking; “The Feast is evocative. The past. The Procession. The dressed-up windows. The Monstrance. The Communion children. That big heavy cope. Relics of old decency. I wonder now what it all meant and means.”
…. “The feast of Corpus Christi screams at us: Don’t be minimalist in what is celebrated at The Table of Life”
Saints in June 01 June St Justin, Martyr Born about 100 at Nablus (Palestine); died about 165 in Rome. After lengthy study of Greek philosophies, he acknowledged Christ as the…
Tony Flannery looks ahead to the fourth conference of the International Church Reform Network (ICRN) that will take place in Bratislava from 11 June to 15 June.
A sample of some reactions to the result of the referendum on removing the Eighth Amendment to the constitution.
An audio clip of Brendan Hoban speaking about the referendum results on MidWest Radio’s “Faith Alive”..
Seamus Ahearne casts an eye on affairs in Ireland from a safe and warm distance.
“We are hiding ourselves in the paint of the past. We are ornate museum pieces. And we may be. But the beauty of God is everywhere. The challenge to all of us is to reveal a God of such beauty and wonder. This is daunting. We have to strip off the paint of the ages. Our life is revelation. …….. God still is wonderful and is still taunting us and teasing us and surprising us.”
Brian Fahy’s memory of an encounter with a lonely lost young Irish woman many years ago makes him reflect that ” ‘Priest’ has connotations of someone who presides in liturgy, in religious ceremonies, …… Whereas, ‘pastor’ … is someone who cares about people.”
“Let us help one another to tell our stories and to live.”
Aoife Kelly in the Irish Independent reports that a “new Irish documentary reveals how Irish missionaries risked their lives to save millions from starvation during the Nigerian Civil War.”
Biafra: Misean Dearmadta (Forgotten Mission) airs on TG4 on Wednesday at 9.30pm.
Stephanie Kirchgaessner writes in The Guardian about a reported conversation between Juan Carlos Cruz, who was sexually abused, and Pope Francis where according to Juan Carlos Cruz the pope told him “‘Juan Carlos, that you are gay does not matter. God made you like this and loves you like this … “
Every bishop in Chile offered his resignation to Pope Francis after a three-day meeting at the Vatican to discuss the clerical sexual abuse scandal.
Report from the National Catholic Reporter
Seán McDonagh reminds us of the true cost of our taste for chocolate!
In a world full of disinformation and fake news Pope Francis issued a timely message for World Communications Day.
Select a category in the sidebar for more posts
Select a category in the sidebar for more posts
