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A Priesthood Imprisoned: Presentation by Marie Keenan to the AGM

A Priesthood Imprisoned:
Presentation by Marie Keenan to the AGM
“I am not sure whether we are Killing our Priests as is the title of this AGM but I am sure that we are imprisoning them in a prison of invisibility, silence and to a great extent impotence.”
“most of all I urge you to take care of yourself in this time of uncertainty and challenge.”

Updated! Some go low, some go high, reactions to the election of the 45th President of the USA

Updated with comments by Sean McDonagh on the potential devastating consequences President elect Trump’s policies on the environment will have if implemented.

Last Tuesday, 08 November 2016, citizens of the U.S.A. elected their new President.
The resulting democratic election of Donald Trump led to joyous celebration among his followers and despair, despondency, and even a sense of fear among those who opposed his views and values.

Brendan Hoban, in his Western People column and Tony Flannery, on his own blog site, have shared some thoughts on the election of Donald Trump and possible implications for us in Ireland.

Mercy Friday Visit

Pádraig McCarthy draws our attention to reports of Pope Francis completing his year of ‘Mercy Fridays’, Pope Francis chose to visit priests who have left active ministry to marry and also met their families, in order to give a sign that the Church does not judge people but embraces all.

Catholic Identity

Stan Mellett, a Redemptorist priest, suggests we have a problem with our identity as catholics.
Stan is suggesting we begin to make an attempt this Advent to forge a new catholic identity for ourselves, even if “With our age profile coupled with ill health, weary with poor response and poor participation in the parish, it is an effort to muster up enthusiasm for a new start. Our attending faithful flock is also ageing and weary. But they are regular – in this lower income parish we count about 700 at three Masses between Vigil and Sunday. Politicians, Summer Schools and other organisations make headlines with that kind of attendance. Surely the alarming prospect of losing our identity totally, will rake the embers to stir up new life in our old bones! There’s fire in the grate still even in our eighties!”

The ‘new’ missal; there is an alternative: Item for Agenda of AGM

To highlight the immediate availability of an alternative to the present ‘new missal’ the prayers and prefaces for the seasons of Advent and Christmas and the Order of Mass from the 1998 Missal will be made available at the AGM of the Association of Catholic priests.

Prayers from the 1998 ICEL Missal are also made available on a weekly basis in the liturgy section of this website; see the Presider’s Page of the Liturgy Preparation section.

Bishops’ Letter to the Association of Catholic Priests: Item for Agenda of AGM

Last May an ACP delegation raised some serious and urgent issues about the Irish Church with representatives of the Irish Bishops. We also looked for a process of continual dialogue in order to meet the challenges facing us.

A response was received from Ray Browne, bishop of Kerry.

How many priests do we need?

In response to the advertised discussion topic of ” Are We Killing Our Priests?” at our upcoming AGM Prof. Thomas O’Loughlin, President of the Catholic Theological Association of Great Britain and Professor of Historical Theology at the University of Nottingham draws our attention to an article he has published about the number of priests that are required in church.
He raises some points well worth considering and his conclusions are challenging;”it is obvious that there has been a serious crisis of under-ordination not just since the mid-twentieth century but since the mid-sixteenth century when as an effect of the Reformation debates the full-time, professionalized, seminary-educated cleric became the norm. Bringing the number of clerics up to quota would initially be a great shock to the churches: the education system of clerics would have to be altered radically, the expectation that this particular ministry would be funded by others Christians (who, incidentally, are expected to offer their ministry to the church usually without payment) would have to be swept aside, along with discriminatory canonical restrictions on who can be appointed presbyter within a given community.”

Another own goal by Cardinal Muller

Brendan Hoban in his Western People column takes another look at the recent regulations issued by the CDF about cremation.
Brendan wonders ‘How is it that Vatican departments, and not least the CDF, get it so exactly wrong so often?’

‘It isn’t just that the rules don’t make sense at almost any level, apart from the arcane reasoning of the CDF, but that the whole debacle, almost anyone can see, is not only excruciatingly embarrassing for the Catholic Church but will damage its reputation, annoy many of its loyal adherents and frustrate priests left to deal with unreasonable and inoperable regulations.’

Doing something about Liturgy

Pádraig McCarthy alerts us to the possibility of Fr Tom O’laughlin, professor of historical theology at Nottingham University, arranging a one-day workshop for priests on their experience of presiding at celebration of liturgy.
Fr. Tom says that it would be ‘something very specific for priests – a praxis based workshop on the liturgy.’ In his view, the status quo is not an option.

How small is small?

Chris McDonnell in his recent article in the Catholic Times offers his opinion on comments made by Archbishop of Philadelphia, Charles Chaput about the benefits of having a “smaller, lighter Church if her members are also more faithful, more zealous, more missionary and more committed to holiness”.
Chris sees the comments as a backlash by some in the context of the “interesting change taking place in the United States as the conservative nature of the US hierarchy is gradually being eroded by the appointment of bishops more in tune with the openness of Francis.”
He further states that “To advocate a smaller, purer church challenges the very nature of a pilgrim Church, where the open arms of a Christian welcome demands that we offer what we have and accept others who might wish to share the journey.
It all smacks of religious sectionalism that takes no account of the bumps and difficulties that we all experience.”

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