Annual General Meeting , 01 October, 2.00 p.m. to 5.00 p.m. Hodson Bay Hotel, Athlone,
Invitation to all members to AGM
The Vocations Crisis: will clustering work?
Blog
CDF, Edinburgh, Kasper, and the local Church.
Seamus Ahearne, as usual, asks the pertinent questions about what is essential in belonging to church.
‘I feel so embarrassed that such nonsense (banning and silencing) is still going on. Robust discussion is essential in our faith. Anselm said: ‘Theology is faith seeking understanding’
“If any of us are listening to the Christ of the Gospels in recent times – we would get something of these message: The Table is open. All comers are welcome. The outsiders are the insiders. The unlikely ones are the most acceptable ones. Never shut doors. Open hearts and open minds and open imaginations.”
Can women’s voices be heard in Pope Francis’ Church?
Invitation to The McWilliam Park Hotel, Claremorris on Sat October 11th from 2.00 – 4.30pm. Admission is free and all are welcome.
Interesting times in Limerick Diocese
Brendan Leahy, bishop of Limerick, has announced a Synod for the diocese of Limerick
A civil war in the Church?
Brendan Hoban in his Western People column questions the commitment of the leadership of the Irish Church to follow Pope Francis on the issue of family.
“Ireland will be represented at the synod in Rome by an archbishop and a nun. In a way no more needs to be said about the response of the Irish Church. While both may well be up to speed on the realities of marriage and family life in Ireland today, neither is married or has children so the signals are all wrong. Isn’t it inexpressibly sad for our Church that there was in Ireland no one the Irish bishops could find to trust who was married and had children?”
Presider’s Page for 28 September (Ordinary Time 26)
God’s love is displayed for us in the life and death of Jesus. We rejoice in this love, and celebrate the victory over sin and death won for us. As a community, we praise God’s holy name.
Whatever ever became of the bronze serpent?
On Sunday 14 September we heard the story of the fiery serpents, and the bronze serpent set up by Moses as instructed.
Pádraig McCarthy
Young people and the Liturgy
I was never too happy with herding the entire school community into a church for a beginning of year or end of year liturgical extravaganza.
A youth liturgy group was set up; not a children’s liturgy group, by the way, as the members range in age from sixteen to the mid twenties. This group was given the responsibility of organizing liturgies on five or six occasions during the liturgical year.
“The signs of the times which can offer us hope and courage.” Pope Francis
The pope said the enormous amount of work and demands being made on pastoral workers “make us run the risk of becoming frightened and withdrawing in on ourselves out of fear and self-defense.”
“And out of that springs the temptation of self-sufficiency and clericalism, that codifying the faith into rules and instructions, which the scribes, Pharisees and doctors of the law did during the time of Jesus. We will have everything exact and everything just-so, but the faithful and those who are seeking will continue to be hungry and thirsty for God,” Pope Francis explained.
If pastoral ministry uses the same approach the scribes and Pharisees took, “never, never will we be witnesses of being close” to people like Jesus was, he said.
Synod – A few thoughts.
Brendan Butler shares some concerns about the Synod on the family.
Presider’s Page for 21 September (Ordinary Time 25)
God’s ways are not our ways. God’s love and generosity are beyond our understanding. We acknowledge all God has done for us, and ask for the grace to grow into God’s likeness.
Pope Francis’ advice to Bishops
Andra Tornielli provides a translation of Pope Francis’ address to bishops and says that the speech the Pope gave to bishops appointed during the last year was one of the most important pronouncements of his pontificate: Be present in your dioceses and make sure you are reachable, welcome everyone without discrimination, don’t be pessimists who despair because “the fort is under attack”
Different forms of priestly ministry?
In light of the discussion due to take place at the AGM and as part of the ongoing debate in our church about vocation and ordained ministry we include these two contributions of how ministry is already being carried out in varied ways in church. Thanks to Brian Eyre and Mossy Hynan for these contributions.
Killaloe Forum on the Diaconate: Tony Flannery
Since I got involved in the reform movement in the Church with the ACP some five years ago I have attended many meetings and gatherings on various aspects of reform….
The challenge of mission
Willy Slavin retired as a priest in Glasgow last year and says he has taken to a campervan to visit the 6000 miles or so of the Scottish Coast with an iPad.
He was 5 years in Bangladesh and spent 10 as chaplain to HMP Barlinnie afterwards.
He originally shared these thoughts about the future of the church in the light of the ‘vocations crisis’ in the magazine Open House.
Presider’s Page for 14 September (Exaltation of the Holy Cross)
The Exaltation or Triumph of the Cross is celebrated each year on 14 September, when a church marking the site of the crucifixion was first dedicated in Jerusalem, in the year 335. We honour the cross today and reflect on its meaning in our lives.
Statement on the Synod, Association of Catholic Priests
Statement issued by the Association of Catholic Priests on the forthcoming Synod on the Family.
Synod On The Family; Expectations Of A Diocesan Bishop
Johan Bonny, Bishop of Antwerp, Belgium, has written of his expectations of the forthcoming synod.
It is a longish document but well worth reading in its entirety. The following excerpts are meant to only give a flavour of what he has written.
The makeup of Synod of Bishops on the Family is disappointing
Thomas Reese in his latest NCR column expresses concerns that change is not really happening with the Curia if we are to judge by the make up of the upcoming Synod on the family. He says that ” Having curial officials as members of a synod fails to recognize that they should be staff not policymakers.”
He also states his concerns whether the lay auditors “will represent to the bishops the views of lay Catholics, but it is hard to argue that they are representative of Catholics at large.” He concludes that ” If Francis and the Council of Cardinals is not willing to change the makeup of the synod of bishops, it is hard to believe they will really fix the Roman Curia.”
Married priests: A financial burden? Divided hearts?
Brian Eyre draws on his own experience to add his contribution to the General Assembly of the ACP on October the 1st on the discussion of the possible return of married priests to public ministry. Brian says that his own experiences show that married priests need not necessarily be a financial burden on a parish and secondly that their dedication and time will not be divided.
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