Vatican allows married priests for Eastern Catholics in diaspora
Pope Francis has lifted the ban on the ordination of married men to the priesthood in Eastern Catholic churches outside their traditional territories.
Pope Francis
Pope Francis confirms norms concerning bishops’ retirement
Andrea Tornielli writes in http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it about the regulations concerning the retirement of bishops.
Of note is the statement that “Worthy of the church’s appreciation is the gesture of one who, motivated by love and the desire for a better service to the community, believes it is necessary because of ill health or other serious reason to renounce his office as pastor before reaching the age of 75.”
Is this something priests should consider as a realistic alternative to taking on more and more duties as they grow older and colleagues die. Might it be the only way to force everyone to realistically confront the issue of the ever reducing number of priests?
Stones still Standing
Chris McDonnell reflects on the recent synod.
“What’s changed?
We don’t deny the faith of earlier generations by asking that question”.
Chris is a retired head teacher having taught in London, Leeds and on Merseyside. Married with three children and eight grandchildren. He is a regular contributor to discussion in the catholic press, journals and blogs.
Provisional translation of Pope Francis’ address at the closing of the Synod:
Address of Pope Francis at end of Synod.
“… a temptation to hostile inflexibility of the so-called ‘traditionalists’ and also of the intellectuals… the temptation of the ‘do-gooders,’… of the so-called ‘progressives and liberals…’
Synod on the Family: mid way document
The ” post discussion report” of the General Rapporteur, Card. Péter Erdő is published here in full so you can read it and form your own opinions.
Certainly, the tone and language are entirely different to what we are accustomed to hearing in Vatican documents in recent years.
Fortune Magazine and Pope Francis: Fr. Seán McDonagh, SSC
Sean McDonagh finds signs of hope in an unlikely place, the scandal ridden Vatican bank.
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?”
“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.
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”
Statement on the Synod, Association of Catholic Priests
Statement issued by the Association of Catholic Priests on the forthcoming Synod on the Family.
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.”
Pope Francis has transformed the Church – it’s time the Church stopped stifling groups who embrace that transformation
In a recent Tablet article Chris McDonnell, secretary of the Movement for Married Clergy, argued that sincere discussion should be welcomed by both the hierarchy and the laity, for the good of the Church.
An Invitation to come to Rome 02 – 05 October 2014
An Invitation to come to Rome 02 – 05 October 2014 to ensure that families are recognized, included, and listened to by the Bishops attending the Synod in Rome.
Are our bishops disinterested in the Francis tide?
Brendan Hoban, in his weekly Western People column, asks is there any silence like the silence of the Irish bishops in response to Francis’ reforming agenda?
The difficult truth is that, while technically Pope Francis is all-powerful and can introduce any changes he wants the reality is, change will be blocked and is being blocked by those who see their power and influence placed at risk.
Synod of bishops – The pastoral challenges of the family In the context of evangelisation
Conclusion
158. The extensive material submitted to the Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops is presented in this Instrumentum Laboris to promote the dialogue and development which is expected to take place during the Third Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops. Clearly, the richness of what is contained in the responses and observations goes beyond what has been reported in these pages, which are intended to provide an initial reference point in synod discussion. To come to some idea of how to respond to the new demands in the People of God, the following three main areas are under discussion in the Church: how the Gospel of the Family can be preached in the present-day; how the Church’s pastoral care programme for the family might better respond to the new challenges today; how to assist parents in developing a mentality of openness to life and in upbringing their children.
Will the U.S. bishops follow Pope Francis?
Jesuit priest, Thomas Reese, writing in the National Catholic Reporter, comments on the meeting of U.S. bishops. The meeting could be a turning point but he asks, will they sail with the Francis wind or will they buck the waves of change?
Head of ‘We Are Church’ in Austria excommunicated by Pope Francis
Abigail Frymann, Christa Pongratz-Lippitt writing in The Tablet report on the excommunication of Martha Heizer, the leader of ‘We are Church’ in Austria.
The Politics of Saint-Making
PAUL VALLELY
With the forthcoming canonisations of two Popes, John XXIII and John Paul II, is it time to look again at the purpose saints are meant to serve. Is the whole process of ‘canonisation’ in need of radical overhaul?
Statement of the Association of Catholic Priests – Pope Francis and the ordination of married men.
The ACP calls on the Irish bishops to respond with courage and conviction to the direct challenge presented to them by Pope Francis
Married men could be ordained priests if world’s bishops agree – Pope Francis
“The Pope explained that he could not take everything in hand personally from Rome. We local bishops, who are best acquainted with the needs of our faithful, should be corajudos, that is ‘courageous’ in Spanish, and make concrete suggestions,”
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