Manchester, Monday, 22 May 2017, 10.30 p.m.
Late evening
No words
only
tears
No laughter
only
fears
Darkness as
the music died
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“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.
Misogyny in the Vatican
Kevin Hegarty, writing in The Mayo News, comments on the decision not to allow Mary McAleese express her views on Vatican property. Kevin sees the decision as a symptom of a huge problem. “This recent controversy highlights once again the density of patriarchy in the institutional Catholic Church. It is the last bastion of exclusive male domination in the western world.
Misogyny in the Vatican is draped in theological abstractions especially in regard to female ordination. Such patriarchy is as insidious and destructive as woodworm in furniture.”
Petition provided to have Fr. Tony Flannery returned to priestly ministry
Over 1,900 people have now signed a petition to have Fr Tony Flannery returned to priestly ministry.
The Permanent Deacon
Enda Lyons in Tuam’s diocesan magazine, New Dawn, writes that when considering the permanent diaconate we should start with the ministry of Christ and not of priests. “Christ’s ministry was, as we know, very broad and not at all narrowly ‘churchy’. The Christ in the gospels was to be found much more often in the villages, on the roads, by the lakeside and in the hills, than in the Temples or synagogues. His Temple was wherever people were and his ministry started and ended with tending to their needs.”
On the Edge
As a preparation for our discussions ‘The Vocations Crisis, will clustering work?’ at our AGM on 01 October, we commend to our members two articles from the September Furrow, On the Edge by Donagh O’Meara and The Last Priests in Ireland by Donald Cozzens, which map out the context for our discussion.
We encourage as many of our members as possible to attend the AGM in the Hodson Bay Hotel, Athlone, 01 October 2.00 p.m. to 5.00 p.m.
Reflection on the US Presidential Election
A reflection by Fr Jim Bacik on the US election. Jim gave a joint diocesan retreat for Tuam and Kilalloe priests in Esker last June. His wisdom and spirituality was well received with Karl Rahner as a ‘giant on his shoulder’.
“it is clear that Pope Francis offers a worldview that challenges the thrust of the Trump movement.”