Homosexuality and the Bible to be explored in Dublin conference
A conference on ‘Homosexuality & The Bible’ is to be given by Augustinian Kieran O’Mahony in Dublin in June. Full details in the EVENTS section (see menu at top of this page).
On the dark wet windy shortest day of 2014 Tony Flannery shares some thoughts saying that “Of the three great Christian virtues, faith, hope and love, I have always considered that hope is the most important of all.”
Brendan Hoban believes that priests should have the freedom to speak out at this time of crisis for the Church. He proposes practical responses to current difficulties in this article, which was first published in the Irish Times of 2 October 2012 (Rite and Reason.
Timothy Radcliffe OP sees in Pope Francis’ interview ‘a new way of being Church’. This implies that the pope ceases to be a monarch and becomes again the Bishop of Rome (first published in America, 30 September 2013).
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
The discussion concerning the possibility of having married priests seems to be gaining ‘traction’ in some episcopal circles. David Gibson outlines recent developments in an article in the National Catholic Reporter
These interesting quotations from the 1971 Synod on ‘Justice in the World’ came from our colleague in Australia, Gerry Hefferan. This official Church document has much to say that is relevant to the current situation in the Church. It is a short piece, well worth reading.
I was at two talks given by Fr Kieran O’Mahoney recently and I can highly recommend him. He is a very engaging speaker with a great sense of humour and a passion for his subject. He also has the gift of really connecting with his audience and this topic is vitally important. There are so many people suffering deeply because of a failure to understand. This story below is not an isolated one unfortunately.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/21/opinion/bruni-one-schools-catholic-teaching.html?comments%23permid=14&smid=fb-share
The amount of youth suicide in Ireland attributable to our homophobia or our cute-hoor silences will never be measured.
I cannot attend the conference due to another previous engagement, but I am delighted it is taking place, and I pray and hope it is very fruitful.It is a most important issue and I pray God’s blessing on this timely initiative and all the participants,speaker and organiser.Let it be indeed the Good News” which brings liberty to captives.” There has been too much suffering too long for too many of our brothers and sisters.
I would also be wanting to know what is said at this conference.
I’ve been reflecting today on the notion that it is the gay/lesbian on-going protest for change that probably has the best traction world-wide, even though, there is also, ‘pushback’. We know that the Vatican held the line for years and years on issues, especially, the ordination of women, and could be years and years before same sex marriage is a Catholic reality. However, I am wondering if the time has passed for the Vatican to be able to continue to “push away” what it does not want to hear or deal with. I’m thinking that it may be the pressure from the gay and lesbian community that is the “straw that broke the camel’s back.’ If the Vatican continues to refuse to hear this protest group, I think, it will be this issue, this fight, that will ultimately create schism.
I have a friend in his 60s come out today. He feels like an immense weight lift off him. He can breathe better and his friends and family did not expect it but have been fantastic.
Maybe I should thank ACP for existing or we’d never have met.