On Thursday April 12th, the ACP will be holding a press conference at 10.00am in Buswell’s Hotel to present the findings of our major opinion poll on religious attitudes in Ireland. It has many very interesting facts to reveal about the attitudes and beliefs of the ordinary Irish catholics.
Note change of Date: Now taking place on Thursday, April 12th
Bryan Dunn reports on the system for supervision being implements for clergy in the Anglican Diocese of Newcastle in Australia — a possible model for Irish dioceses?
Padraig Haran, (Chairperson), Joe Connolly, (P.P.), Deirdre Meyler, Angela O’Sullivan, Pat Hannon, (P.C.), Mary Bond, Ken Spratt, Pat Reilly, (C.C.), Deborah McArdle and Alain Rochecouste, all members of Donabate Pastoral Council, deplore the CDF’s treatment of Fr Tony Flannery
Peter McVerry imagines a parish where everyone’s needs are met, in which everyone felt loved and valued and respected, no-one was marginalised or made to feel unwanted, where everyone’s views were listened to with respect and discussed in love and tolerance: the Kingdom of God on earth
This is a reflection written on the morning after the Cloyne Report, based on my experience of working for many years in the parishes around that diocese.
Sean M O’Connail assesses the progress in the ten-year plan of implementing the National Directory for Catechesis and finds that, three years in, it has come to a standstill. He calls on the Irish Bishops to acknowledge the state of emergency in the Irish Church, given the crisis facing clerical manpower and morale.
This is a very interesting and encouraging development in Clogher. As you can see from the report, they are really facing the issues and problems that all of us as priests are confronted with. We, the leadership, would love if other dioceses could maybe take a lead from this, and begin to organise similar type meetings. I am aware that such discussion is probably done best at local level, but if anyone could come up with how we might pursue these agendas at a national level we would love to hear from them. The organiser of the ACP in Clogher is Jimmy McPhillips. I am sure Jimmy would be more than happy to give advice to any other group wishing to follow their lead.
“ordinary Irish catholics”?
As opposed to extraordinary catholics.
No, ordinary locals’ beliefs as opposed to Local Ordinaries’ attitudes.
The local ordinary is the bishop aka a successor of the Apostles. They don’t claim to speak for the beliefs of all Catholics, they simply present and hand on the faith of the Apostles. We can gather with them or we can scatter. Cardnal George of America made this point recently.
”Perhaps this is the time for everyone to re-read the Acts of the Apostles. Bishops are the successors of the apostles; they collectively receive the authority to teach and govern that Christ bestowed upon the apostles. Bishops don’t claim to speak for every baptized Catholic. Bishops speak, rather, for the Catholic and apostolic faith. Those who hold that faith gather with them; others go their own way. They are and should be free to do so, but they deceive themselves and others in calling their organizations Catholic. ”
Cardinal George is not fighting with the Catholic laity about the apostolic faith, but about disputed questions, largely connected with episcopal intervention in politics.
Martin, it’s a very old Maynooth joke. It does not pretend to sum up my relationship with my bishop or with all the successors of the Apostles and nor, I hope, does it portray me as a scatterer rather than a gatherer.