As a result of our meeting with the Bishop’s Commission, and their response to that meeting, which we regarded as very inadequate, we have decided to issue the following statement to the media.
It also contains notice of a general meeting to discuss this subject on June 2nd in Portlaoise.
This gathering at the Regency Hotel, Dublin on the May Bank Holiday Monday, was open to all, lay and clergy alike.
Tony Flannery rejoices in the difference Pope Francis is making in the Church, but fears that local church leadership may not have the capacity to implement the change the pope wishes for.
This is the text of the talk given by Gary Keogh at the first session (Naming the Reality) of the gathering on May 7th “Towards and Assembly of the Irish Catholic Church
Brendan Hoban is saddened at the Iona Institute’s rush to the lawyers on being called ‘homophobic’, and contrasts it with the Institute’s earlier comments on the ACP, which did not lead to a legal remedy being sought (first published in the Western People).
The New York Times profiles Father Helmut Schüller, the ‘mild but rebellious priest’ who was part of the 2011 ‘Appeal to Disobedience’ by 400 priests in Austria. This initiative began with a small group of priests, talking about the problems faced by their parishes, about the lack of successors to take their places, and about the fusing of congregations.
(A version of this article appeared in print on March 23, 2013, on page A8 of the New York edition with the headline: With New Pope, Spotlight Returns to a Mild but Rebellious Priest.)
Great piece on this evening’s RTE Leap of Faith. The psychologist that spoke was one of the finest that I have ever heard speak. Possibly he might speak/write more about the issues that he spoke about. I felt connected to him when he spoke about the isolation that priests feel.
I feel sad that this issue is rarely raised by bishops/superiors. Possibly as a culture/church we might feel surprised to become aware that some priests have mental health issues. One of the most powerful sermons I ever heard preached was when the priest acknowledged that he suffered from depression.
As clergy maybe we could reach out to fellow priests who we know who are struggling? I feel encouraged by the healing circles that the ACPI will organize later in the year.