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Francis A. Quinn, the retired bishop of Sacramento, has an interesting article in The New York Times in preparation for Pope Francis’ visit to the U.S.A.
One of the topics he broaches is that of the ordination of women.
“Recent popes have said publicly that priesthood for women cannot be considered because the gospel and other documents state that Christ ordained men only.
Yet women have shown great qualities of leadership: strength, intelligence, prayerfulness, wisdom, practicality, sensitivity and knowledge of theology and sacred Scripture.
Might the teaching church one day, taking account of changing circumstances, be inspired by the Holy Spirit to study and reinterpret this biblical tradition?”
With so many retired bishops speaking out recently on topical issues it raises the question why they haven’t done so when in office. What prevents bishops from expressing such views when they hold office? Whatever it is, it most certainly is not healthy and is damaging the office of bishop and the universal church.
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The problem of the shortage of priests is not new, nor is it confined to Europe.
TEAMS OF ELDERS: Moving Beyond “Viri Probati”, was published in 2007 by Bishop Fritz Lobinger.
We carry a review of his book by Michael Shackleton published in 2008 in “The Southern Cross”, South Africa’s Catholic Weekly.
Bishop Fritz Lobinger is the retired bishop of Aliwal, South Africa.
He has also expressed his opinions in the second article that we carry as published in U.S. Catholic.
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Brendan Hoban writing in his Western People column warns that we need to be careful about the consequences of some proposed solutions to the ever growing shortage of priests in Ireland. Importing priests, he tells us, just kicks the issue of celibacy down the road again.
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Helen B. Costigane, Ph.D.; D.C.L. writes on the canonical obligations of a bishop for financial care of suspended or laicized priests.
This article was first published in the July issue of THE FURROW, and later was made available through www.justiceforpriests.org
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In our journey through life we walk the path Jesus walked, so it is hard for us to escape suffering, no more than he could. We remember his suffering and death, knowing that it brought him glory and that it will do the same for us.
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Jim McCormack CM asks whether in a rapidly changing world the sacraments as we celebrate them require a complete overhaul . Evolution and change over decades and centuries has always been part of the church, its ministry and its celebration of sacraments; “Gradually a system will develop which will satisfactorily cover all the appropriate bases.”
The challenge facing the “POWERS THAT BE” is in deciding to let go and let what is past ‘rest in peace’.
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On Wednesday, September 9th a meeting of the leadership team of the Association of Catholic Priests took place in the Hodson Bay Hotel, Athlone.The meeting involved most of the current ACP leadership and a wider group of priests whom the leadership sought to consult about the future of the ACP. We explored three questions: Is there or not a compelling reason for the ACP to remain in existence? If yes, what structures would best enable the ACP function for that purpose? What should happen next?
The meeting was chaired by Martin Kennedy.
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Press release by the International Network of Reform Movements.
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Seamus Ahearne shares his thoughts with us following a recent wedding.
In his usual style he recommends a huge dose of E for us: ‘Our church has to be expansive and explosive and exciting and exhilarating’.
‘I also recalled Stephen Hawkins who said that Church folk damage God – “your God is too small.”
”Why do they ‘belittle God’? Isn’t faith about ‘being great’? I don’t recognise the God of little men/women who has to be protected. A God that has to be protected from Tony Flannery? What kind of unreal God is this? It is not the God I know or the Church I know. ‘:
‘Never be-little; be great! That is the banner over all of us.’
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Pope Francis has announced new procedures for the annulling of marriages.
The documents making the announcement, Mitis Iudex Dominus Iesus and Mitis et misericors Iesus, are still only available in Italian and Latin.
We carry a report on this move from Crux.
http://www.cruxnow.com/church/2015/09/08/pope-francis-streamlines-process-for-granting-annulments/
Is this an important step for reform and Francis’ message of Mercy?
How relevant is it for the majority of catholics who divorce and remarry?
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God’s healing power was seen in the ministry of Jesus, and continues in the sacraments, in advances in medicine and in the work of the caring professions. Today we pray for strength, trusting that God will continue to show compassion to the whole world
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Brendan Hoban, writing in his column in the Western People, gives his reaction to Bishop Crean recently forcing a Pastoral Council to withdraw an invitation to Tony Flannery to speak in a local community hall.
“It has brought the Irish Catholic Church once more into disrepute in that it showed that other voices have no place in it, even if Pope Francis encourages them in the wider Church. It insulted Tony Flannery …… it shows once again that the people are ahead of the priests, the priests are ahead of the bishops and the bishops, caught in the nineteenth century, are either out of touch or in abject denial.”
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In the National Catholic Reporter Robert Mickens questions the type of legacy Pope Francis will leave the church.
“Francis has been a breath of fresh air. He has instilled new hope into the lives of millions of Catholics. And this is because his words and gestures continue to suggest that healthy change and development can take place in the structures and disciplines of the church.
But his longstanding legacy will depend on whether or not they actually do.”
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Tony Flannery on his own website comments on the recent interview with the Papal Nuncio, Charles Brown
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In debates about how to counter the declining number of priests in the Catholic Church it is often argued that despite having a married clergy, women and men, the Church of England is not attracting vocations either. In a recent interesting article in The Tablet Jonathan Wynne-Jones seems to give the lie to that argument with an account of 1000 ordinations in the Church of England this year.
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As we move from summer to autumn, we praise God who sustains us all year round. We ask for help with new undertakings and perseverance with continuing projects, knowing that nothing will work well without God’s grace.
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Hard hitting editorial in The Irish Examiner of 22 August 2015;
“The crozier was used to good effect to stifle debate, close down a necessary discourse, and bully a community group into accepting an unwelcome diktat from a blinkered hierarchy.”
In contrast Pope Francis speaking in July;
“When leaders in various fields ask me for advice, my response is always the same: dialogue, dialogue, dialogue. It is the only way for individuals, families and societies to grow.”
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Brendan Hoban, writing in his column in The Western People, raises the issue of the campaign being waged to force the Catholic Church to hand over half of its primary level schools to patrons with a different ethos.
Brendan says that “The truth is that only Catholic parents can make that decision.”
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“The real demand in Ireland is not for secular schools but for school places and providing adequate places is the responsibility, not of the Catholic Church, but of the State.”
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Whoever eats the flesh of the Lord and drinks his blood will live for ever. We celebrate Jesus’ promise, believing we will share the eternal destiny of all who have this divine life in them.
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Dawn Cherie Araujo reports in ‘Global Sisters Report’ on the recent Leadership Conference of Women Religious National Assembly at Houston, Texas.
Sr. Janet Mock, former LCWR executive director, referring to the Vatican’s now-concluded LCWR doctrinal assessment and mandate said “she was able to maintain hope during those years, because she tries to see the good in people. But during the process someone told her she needed to be more willing to look at the culture of corruption from which the Vatican’s actions stemmed.”
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