Blog

Brian Fahy reflects on how a life well lived affects us not just during the person’s life but long after they have departed this world.

Brendan Hoban in the Western People outlines the campaign being waged against Fr. James Martin. “What’s clear is that Fr. Martin is no heretic. He’s in good standing with his Church, supported by his Jesuit colleagues and respected in his ministry. He’s not rejecting church teaching. He’s doing what Pope Francis himself has done, creating a space in the Catholic Church for LGBT people and creating greater awareness of the need to respect them”.
“The truth is that, in America, the presence of homophobic groups who place themselves under the umbrella of ‘Catholic’, are spewing unimagined levels of vitriol on anyone whom they believe is compromising what they see as ‘Catholic teaching’. It is a sinister and corrosive development that runs counter to the gospel, to the mercy Pope Francis consistently underlines and even to minimal standards of civility and respect.”

Joshua J. McElwee reports in the National Catholic Reporter on the long running dispute in the Nigerian diocese of Ahiara.
“The priests had complained that Bishop Peter Okpaleke was not from Mbaise, the region surrounding their diocese..”

Chris McDonnell writing in the Catholic Times offers some thoughts on how to make the best of Lent.
He suggests “So how about a ‘Listening Lent’ this year? ” Chris offers what could be very useful advice for us all when it comes to social media! “In our western culture, listening is an acquired skill. We have lost the experience of quiet time, silence, that space between words, the opportunity to consider what we hear before we rush into making a response, is scarce.”

Writing in his blog tonyflannery.com, Tony Flannery questions why changes were made in some of the literature circulated by the organisers of the world meeting of families. He suggests that “the message that is being taken from withdrawal of the (original) leaflet is that only marriage relationships that are in complete accord with Church teaching are welcome at the event.”

Seamus Ahearne casts his eye over some recent events and wonders at the chaos and if the world has gone mad; he wonders if there is ‘an absence of proportionality’ about grieving over public figures. At the funeral of a friend he is struck by his family’s ‘utter conviction of faith in all that they did’.

Peter Feuerherd reports in the National Catholic Reporter on a resolution endorsed by the Association of U.S. Catholic Priests, calling upon Catholic bishops in the United States to enlist the aid of lay pastoral workers to administer parishes.

In a comment on another thread Iggy O Donovan asks
“Can anybody shed light on the reported comments of Francis in Chile regarding Bishop Barros Madrid. It appears to have offended abuse survivors and if true would definitely cast a negative cloud over his papacy. Also from the point of view of his Irish visit it would make itself felt and not in a positive way.”
To provide some information on this subject we carry a report from americamagazine and a statement issued by Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley of Boston.