Pope Francis and Fr Sean McDonagh
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Murdered for protecting Community
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.
A new prayer for serenity is offered for all
Fr James Martin SJ has written a ‘New Serenity Prayer’ — recommended to ACP and ACI members, bishops etc.
An open letter to Pope Francis
As a result of the 2nd international meeting of priest associations and lay reform groups that recently took place in Limerick an open letter has been sent to Pope Francis.
“Pope Francis, we – priests and deacons, ministers and Church citizens, women and men – need you! We appeal to you to clear the way for new forms of parish life, their ministry and management. Let us open the priestly office to everyone who has the charism. Let us develop new management models and forms of pastoral ministry so that parishioners can participate according to their charisms. Let us establish a new culture of co-responsibility and joint decision-making in all structures of our Church. Let us remember how Jesus understood and lived community. God’s spirit compels us. Let us be courageous and tackle this together!”Pope Francis on priests and laity
Pádraig McCarthy points to the 19 March letter of Pope Francis to Cardinal Marc Ouellet of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.
Francis has strong words on the importance of laity, and of the dangers of clericalism.“It is not [for] the pastor to tell lay people what they must do and say, they know this better than we do.”
Presider’s Page for 2 March (Ordinary Time 8)
Words matter. What we say has an effect on others, for good or ill. God’s word to us is spoken in Jesus, the Word made flesh, in whose name we gather this and every Sunday.
Not an era of change but a change of era. Updated
Updated to include a translation of Pope Francis’ address. Translation kindly provided by Pádraig McCarthy. Translations of the Popes addresses are very slow to appear in Rome so our thanks to Pádraig.
Joshua J. McElwee reports in NCR on a speech by Pope Francis to a national conference of the Italian church in Florence.
Pope Francis made a fairly strong statement that the Church must continue to face problems of the present in new and culturally relevant ways.
“Before the problems of the church it is not useful to search for solutions in conservatism or fundamentalism, in the restoration of obsolete conduct and forms that no longer have the capacity of being significant culturally,”
“Christian doctrine is not a closed system incapable of generating questions, doubts, interrogatives — but is alive, knows being unsettled, enlivened,” said the pope. “It has a face that is not rigid, it has a body that moves and grows, it has a soft flesh: it is called Jesus Christ.”