Irish Examiner reports on apology received by Kerry priest
Saurya Cherfi reports in the Irish Examiner on the High Court apology received by Fr Liam O’Brien
Articles
ACP receives appeal on behalf of Bishops Robinson, Power and Morris
Tony Biviano asks Irish priests to support an online petition on behalf of three Australian bishops, who want the Church to address the issue of abuse of children ‘ for Christ’s sake’
Clogher priests have reservations about clustering parishes
Jimmy Mc Phillips reports on a recent meeting of ACP members in the Diocese of Clogher, which took place shortly after a Clogher priest had to stand down from ministry. The meeting also considered a plan for grouping parishes recently put forward by Bishop Liam
Ireland’s priests will have almost disappeared in 20 years. What then?
Brendan Hoban introduces his new book, Who Will Break The Bread For Us? Disappearing Priests, which names the bleak reality for the Irish Church and calls for an end to denial.
Homosexuality and the Bible to be explored in Dublin conference
Kieran O’Mahony OSA is to present a conference on ‘Homosexuality and the Bible’ in All Hallows College in June. Full details in EVENTS section (see menu on top of this page).
‘Materialism’ isn’t our real problem: covetousness is
So many Church people today blame ‘materialism’ for the loss of faith: here, Sean O Connaill suggests that materialism is not the problem, but rather covetous or mimetic desire. The fundamental human need that drives surplus material acquisition is a need for something entirely non-material. Homilists are challenged to reflect this in their words.
Why priests are slow to contribute to our website
Seamus Ahearne responds to Eddie Finnegan’s noting that so few priests write on this site. He suggests that in the life of a priest, words are enormously important – written or spoken.
Helmut Schüller still hopes for reform under Pope Francis
Alan Hilliard shares a New York Times profile of the Austrian reform leader Fr Helmut Schüller, published on 22 March 2013. Read the original here
Ireland needs ‘creative wingers’ for bishops – as well as ‘dependable centre-backs’
Brendan Hoban reflects on the recent appointments to the Irish Bishops’ Conference and wonders if Rome’s new policy of appointing outsiders in each case will work.
I am being impersonated on Twitter: Tony Flannery
Tony Flannery is looking for help on how to deal with an impersonator on Twitter.
Has the momentum of the Regency meeting dissipated?
Martin Hayes from Waterfall in Cork laments to lack of real follow-up to the marvellous gathering in the Regency twelve months ago. He also believes that the movement to have two separate associations is part of the problem, and is actually stifling progress.
The poor pay a high price for our cheap clothes
Fr Sean McDonagh SSC reflects on the collapse of the garment factory in Bangladesh, and how where we buy our clothes has implications far beyond what we might be aware of.
Abolish the priesthood!
Linda Hogan reviews Garry Wills’ latest book, ‘Why Priests? A Failed Tradition‘, in which Wills argues that the most honest position on priesthood would be to seek its abolition altogether, given its lack of biblical justification (first published in the Irish Times: read original article here ). Wills’ target is not the 400,000 individual priests, many of whom, he acknowledges, make a significant contribution to the lives of countless millions worldwide. Rather, his focus is on the institution, which, he argues, has a flimsy biblical heritage and a dubious theological justification and is an impediment to the development of a more egalitarian Christianity.
“The Young Priest and the Old Man” – a sad story
This account was sent in to the website by a woman whose name is with the ACP Leadership Team. They decided not to publish her name, so that the church and the priest would not be easily identified.
Letter with 1,237 ACP signatories sent to bishops
The ACP has called on the Irish Bishops’ Conference to meet Ireland’s silenced priests as soon as possible and to then negotiate with the CDF. A motion proposing this was agreed by over 250 priests at a meeting in Athlone, and the motion subsequently signed by over a thousand people on this website.
The complexity of human life is in the Irish movie ‘Pilgrim Hill’
Margaret Lee highly recommends the film ‘Pilgrim Hill‘, a low budget movie filmed in Kerry; and she praises the support given to the production by Pat Moore. Pat is a priest of Kerry diocese, and an active member of the ACP
President’s Strasbourg address is worth reading
President Michael D Higgins‘s address to the European Parliament in Strasbourg has drawn much favourable comment and is recommended to ACP members. (For those who prefer to listen, his address is here .)
Does ‘isolated and at risk’ describe the rural priest today?
Brendan Hoban reflects on the isolation of rural Irish priests and adds a historical perspective, suggesting it was ever thus (first published in the Western People on 16 April).
Kerry members explain why diocesan ACP meetings don’t work
The Kerry diocesan branch of the ACP met recently and members offered suggestions why few priests respond to local ACP meetings.
Pope reaffirms critique of American Religious
Joshua J McElwee reports in the NCR on Pope Francis’ reaffirmation of his predeccessor’s rebuke of American Religious. (Original story and comments are here.)
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