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.”
Faced with the ‘lucky bag’ of glossy advertising material about the world meeting of families regularly reaching most parochial houses, Seamus Ahearne pens a few thoughts, and hopes, about this upcoming event.
“We need the messed up, chaotic struggle of most ordinary and real families to be centre stage. We have to reflect the life of the family in Ireland and not some idealised version.”
“I don’t dismiss or undermine anything of the mighty work being done in preparation. I am concerned that it can reflect something of what we see daily.”
Joe O Leary offers these thoughts for next Sunday, World Day of the Sick. (Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes)
“Lourdes shows a loving, healing God bending over the mass of human filth and misery, like Christ at the pool of Bethdaida, or like Christ in today’s Gospel compassionately touching the unclean leper.” …….
“So many people are locked in spiritual and psychological paralysis — and the physical paralysis that he cures could be a result of that spiritual paralysis; so many people are impoverished and marginalized and treated as lepers in our society; so many people are possessed or obsessed by demons of various kinds — by prejudice, hatred, fear, greed, enslaving attachments and addictions. The healing activity of Jesus is a blow to liberate us from all these forms of bondage.”
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’.
Brendan Hoban writing in his Western People column comments on the ongoing opposition to the task of reforming the Roman Curia. He says there is “huge division between those who want reform in the Church and those who are attempting to block it.”
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.
John N. Collins, an Australian theologian, has devoted a great part for his life to studying the real meaning of ‘diakonia’. His thesis has serious implications for our understanding of ministry in church.
“I was confronted by the need to identify the nature of the ‘service’ of the Son of Man (Mk 10:45). Soon I came to recognise that the English ‘service’ words were totally inadequate to represent the range of meanings ancient Greek authors intended by their use of diakon- terms.”
Catherine Pepinster reports in Religion News Service, religionnews.com, on the fact that some Anglican priests are joining trade unions.
She quotes Rev. Peter Hobson, who is head of the priests’ Unite branch, Church of England Clergy Advocates; “vicars are turning to the union because they are under pressure from all sides — from the people in the pews and from their bishops…….. the bishop, while he is a pastoral figure, is also managerial. And the managerial approach is coming more and more to the fore …….. this more managerial approach makes relationships between clergy and bishops more difficult, and clergy consequently need more advice and someone ‘on their side,’ as it were, from outside the church .”
The text of a lecture given by Gabriel Daly OSA to a “We are Church” event on Monday, 15 January 2018.
Our sincere thanks to Gabriel and to Colm Holmes of ‘We are Church Ireland’ for providing the text.
America magazine, among others, carries a report of the call by Bishop Franz-Josef Bode of Osnabruck ,(vice president of the German bishops’ conference) for a debate on whether Catholic clergy should bless same-sex unions..
Joe McVeigh ponders the future role of priests in the church.
“In Ireland, we are now in mission territory. We who have been ordained and who have survived this long are missionary priests in our own country. We are no longer maintenance priests in charge of maintaining churches, schools and parochial halls, …. We now need to adjust to the entirely new situation facing us and adopt new practices and a new ways of being church.”
A “We Are Church” Press Release of 14 January 2018 calls for Pope Francis to meet Marie Collins to show support of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.
Seán McDonagh draws our attention to the disaster that has befallen the village of Dalama, Philippines on December 22nd , 2017.
“The tragedy of what did happen in barrio Dalama during Typhoon ‘Vinta’ in 2017 was a direct result of logging on the mountains in previous decades.”
Brian Fahy’s reflection on his own life’s journey certainly proves that ministry is not confined to ‘being a parish priest, or indeed a minster of religion, or a liturgical, sacramental operative.’
‘My time in the Redemptorists was rich even as it was also difficult…….. I am (now) learning how to be a good father and grandfather in these later years of my life. I am also learning how to be a widower at peace with the story of life that came to me.’
Seamus Ahearne reports of an interesting dialogue he had recently about the state of church and liturgy and sacraments.
“Much of Liturgy has evolved from the Monasteries. It has grown fat with the accretions of history. It has become something to endure or admire or look at. Despite all the changes of language; it can still be so passive as a Celebration. ……
The psychological reality is that there are too many words hurled at us. Any real psychology of praying is absent. There is no space for quiet; for sharing; for being still…..
Someone has to shout stop and strip off the accretions and reduce the Mass to its essentials and make space for God to speak and for us to be part of it. It is all noise and fuss and rush.”
Colm Holmes of ‘We Are Church Ireland’ prepared this report on the transparency of our 26 dioceses in Ireland using the same criteria as VOTF in the USA at the end of 2017.
Chris McDonnell writing in the Catholic Times, January 5th 2018, offers a reflection for the new year.
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