praytellblog reports on how another retired UK bishop comes out against the New Missal.
“Like a number of my fellow bishops I have had plenty of time to repent of our original decision to vote this translation through Conference.”
Brendan Hoban reflects, in his weekly Western People column, on our expectations of Christmas.
Seamus Ahearne reflects on the reality of pastoral ministry and care in a ‘disadvantaged’ parish;
“more work and different work is essential in a Deis (band 1) parish. Our Church is outside of the building. Our Liturgy has to happen on the hoof. The preparation for the special occasions needs more energy and more imagination. It has to be gentle, real and kindly. The domestic Church is the only church we now have.”
An update, by Mattie Long, on the ongoing story of the ‘new missal’ and the failure by some bishops to have paid it proper attention before they approved it, along with the their willingness to bow to pressure from Rome that “was intent on complete oversight.”
Sean McDonagh writes of an alarming rise in the number of those being murdered for defending their community’s lands, natural resources and wildlife. One of those murdered was Fr. Marcelito Paez. Fr. Paez’s murder took place during a two-day period which saw ten activists shot dead in Luzon and in the southern Philippines on the island of Mindanao.
Over the next days, months, and years there will be much media coverage and comment on the The Final Report of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse
The report is vast, consisting of 17 volumes and an executive summary.
It can be accessed at the commission’s website directly.
https://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/preface-and-executive-summary
The National Catholic Reporter carried an article about the call by Australian Bishop Vincent Long Van Nguyen for an end to clericalism in the church.
“… the priesthood ‘pedestalized’ is the priesthood dehumanized. It is bound to lead us into the illusion of a messiah complex and an inability to claim our wounded humanity and to minister in partnership. What we need to do is to humanize the priesthood so as best to equip ourselves with relational power for authentic Gospel living and service.” Bishop Vincent Long Van Nguyen is quoted as saying.
Angela Hanley gives an account of the 19th Annual LGBT Christmas Carol Service that was held in Dublin on Saturday 09 December 2017.
Angela tells of the genuine welcome that was extended to all by the Unitarian Church.; “this welcome is rich, all encompassing and full of the love of God.” She finishes her report by saying “others will just have to learn how to provide the same welcome in their own churches.”
Joe McVeigh suggests that we need to view the position in which our church finds itself as an opportunity rather than a crisis.
“this is not a crisis for the Church. It is a crisis for a certain model of Church leadership and ministry. The old model was based on the pyramid structure of the Roman Empire. The Second Vatican council moved away from that model – in theory anyway.” ……
“The prophetic role of the priest in Ireland today has been neglected. There has been much discussion about the need to reform the church rather than about how to make the Word of God relate to the lives of people of today.”
Our AGM is still attracting interest with Sarah MacDonald writing in the National Catholic Reporter about the ‘advice card’ for priests that has been published by the ACP and the introduction of “Healing Circles”.
Chris McDonnell writes in the Catholic Times about the decision of the bishops conference of England and Wales not to address ongoing problems with the language of the ‘new missal’.
Brian Fahy’s reflection on ‘The Widow’s Mite’ reminds us “to give what I have, however little it seems. It will be the more in God’s eyes.”
…. “This is a Christian truth. Every human being, every life is important: important to oneself first of all, important to God most of all, and important for all of us to learn.”
We carry reports of the bishops’ conference in the U.S. approving liturgical texts according the the no longer approved ‘Liturgiam authenticam’ and the bishops’ conference of England & Wales refusing to review the ‘new missal’ and seeming to again surrender their authority in such matters to the Congregation for the Discipline of the Sacraments and Divine Worship.
In the context of these reports Mattie Long wonders “With the New Zealand conference of bishops being the only one so far that seems willing to grasp the nettle of beginning to do something to rectify the absolute mess that is the ‘new Missal’, we can only wonder what is preventing others from taking their courage in their hands and responding to the authority and challenge that is presented them in the’ “Great Principle” of Francis.”
Brendan Hoban, in his Western People column, writes about tensions that exist in church.
“While the big battle – and battle it is – is going on in Rome, there are more minor skirmishes taking place at national, diocesan and parish level, between those convinced of the need to introduce sweeping changes in the Church’s laws and practices and those holding on grimly to the past.”
“It is difficult to see how there can be any agreement between sides that are mutually and diametrically opposed to one another – sometimes to the point of bitterness – and every reforming effort by Francis is being fought tooth and nail, even reforms that are necessary for the very survival of the faith in parishes all over the world.”
Gabriel Daly, on his ninetieth birthday, looks back at tumultuous change in the church.
Our best wishes to Gabriel on his birthday and our thanks for his permission to publish this article.
Thanks as well to Brendan Walsh, Editor of the Tablet, for permission to include this article on our site. It was first published in the 18 November edition of The Tablet.
Dublin Diocese’s website has published the speaking notes of Archbishop Diarmaid Martin’s talk at the Patrick Finn Lecture Series given at Saint Mary’s Haddington Road, 16th November 2017.
Archbishop Martin made some very interesting points:
” ….. will involve new forms of priestly presence within faith communities in the changing future of Ireland.”
“How do we reach out in a new way to people where they are and create a desire among them to deepen their understanding of Christian message?”
“What are the factors that alienate people from the Church structures of today? Probably the most significant negative factor that influences attitudes to the Church in today’s Ireland is the place of women in the Church. Next would be the ongoing effect of the scandals of child sexual abuse.”
“A survey of young people’s attitude to parish was carried out in the Dublin diocese …. The report was one of the most disappointing documents that I read since becoming Archbishop. Young people felt unwelcome in parishes.”
“But the fate of the Christian is more likely to be that of marginalization rather than martyrdom.”
“Why am I still optimistic? Irish society is still permeated with elements of faith. Residual faith, however, is probably more fragile in an indifferent world than in a world of hostility. There are deeper elements of goodness and idealism and generosity among young people but despite years of Catholic education, they do not seem to have been truly touched by the knowledge of the person of Jesus Christ.”
The first Seán Fagan Memorial lecture was delivered by Angela Hanley on 13 November 2017 at the We are Church meeting in the Arrupe Room, Jesuit Communications Centre, Milltown.
We thank Angela Hanley for making the text of her paper available to us for publication.
Peter Johnstone is President of Catholics for Renewal, an organisation with many supporters who are committed Catholics determined to seek reform of the dysfunctional governance of the Catholic Church institution.
He wrote on https://johnmenadue.com about the Australian Church in the context of the wait for the final report from the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. He stated that “Only those in blind denial could fail to realise that the Catholic Church in Australia is now in the midst of a massive and existential crisis.”
praytellblog.com reports that New Zealand’s bishops have welcomed Pope Francis’ “Magnum Principium (the great principle)”.
They state “We will be working in collaboration with English speaking Bishops’ Conferences around the world, as we seek to explore prudently and patiently the possibility of an alternative translation of the Roman Missal and the review of other liturgical texts.”
A look at statistics (from 2014) about the Catholic Church in the U.S. is somewhat depressing. Apart from a growth in the numbers of permanent deacons there seems to be decline in all else.
What can we learn from these figures, what can we do?
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