Fostering a community of values
On 29th May 2008 the Catholic Bishops of Ireland issued a pastoral reflection on the occasion of the referendum on the Treaty of Lisbon. While not explicitly urging a yes vote, it is an endorsement of the European project.
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The Lisbon Treaty: Yes or No?
On 12th June we in Ireland vote in the referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. In this article, Patrick Duffy tries to sort out which way, as a Catholic, he will vote. .... |
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"The movements" in the Irish Church: an introduction
The "movements" are organisations which have emerged since Vatican II, mainly of lay people, inspired by a founder and have a method or way to lead people to a dynamic Christian life. Patrick Duffy explains. .... |
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Profiles of "the movements" in the Irish Church
Here is a list and introductory note on the nine main "movements" or dynamic Catholic organisations that have emerged in Ireland since Vatican II. Patrick Duffy then provides a short profile of each. .... |
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A prayer for healing victims of abuse
Following the publication of the Ferns Report we offer this prayer for the use of those affected by child abuse. .... |
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Making themselves at home: the Benedictine monks at Rostrevor
Users of the Prayer Request page of this website will have noted the debt we owe to the Benedictines in Rostrevor, Co. Down. These five monks, from the Benedictine Congregation of Saint Mary Monte-Oliveto, have taken it upon themselves to pray for the intentions of those who submit prayer requests .... |
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The Church I’d like to see
The church I’d like to see, writes Pat Lemasney, is one that encourages active participation by all the baptised and that nourishes its members through the sacraments and scripture. .... |
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Statement from Archbishop Diarmuid Martin following publication of the Ferns Report
Retired Supreme Court judge Frank Murphy's Report on child sex abuse in the Ferns diocese was published on Tuesday 25th October 2005. A few days later Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin issued this statement. .... |
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Educated young adults: gift and challenge
Seamus Claffey, who writes on pastoral issues and assists groups in the matter of organisational development, reflects here on a survey of the experience, attitudes and values of educated young adults in Ireland. .... |
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Church and children
Sr Stanislaus Kennedy on why now more than ever, in the aftermath of clerical sex abuse scandals, the Church must be the advocate of children.
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Catholic ‘intellectuals’ and Ireland
Many academics and media people in Ireland have little time for a Catholic literary tradition. In fact, they don’t take the very idea of Catholic intellectual activity seriously. Eamon Maher, whose translation of Jean Sulivan’s memoir of the death of his mother, Anticipate Every Goodbye, was .... |
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Can Irish Catholicism live with secularism?
Irish Catholics should welcome the open space that secularism provides, not fear it, writes Sean O’Conaill. .... |
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The climate which favoured clerical sex abuse
Desmond O’Donnell OMI, a registered psychologist, identifies features of Church culture which have made it possible for clerical sex abuse of children to thrive. .... |
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Where to now for Irish Catholicism?
The problems that are besetting the Catholic Church in Ireland will ultimately lead to a new, more theologically informed, open and charitable institution, writes Eamon Maher .... |
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The debt Ireland owes the Catholic Church
John Bruton T.D. acknowledges the faults of the Church in Ireland but argues that the benefits which Ireland has gleaned from its Catholic culture outweighs them. .... |
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Beyond clericalism
Sean O'Conaill sees the need for lay people to abandon the notion of the priest as 'grandee' so that they can embrace fully their own vocation to a life of faith and of collaboration in a wide variety of ministries. .... |
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Ireland 2004 - are we a less caring nation?
Peter McVerry SJ takes a look at Ireland in 2004 and concludes that we remain a caring nation – to an extent. We are loath to work for structural changes which might reduce poverty but also disimprove our own standard of living. .... |
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The Christian response to modern individualism
Seán O Conaill identifies an elitist vein in present-day individualism and warns that the right response is not a return to the social and religious conformism of the past. .... |
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The Flight of the Earls
Brian Mac Cuarta SJ tells of the fostering of a written Catholic heritage in the Irish language by the Franciscan friars who established the Irish College of St Anthony in Leuven (Louvain). Little wonder this college becasme a place of refuge for the Earls on their flight from Ireland in 1607. .... |
