Courtney McGrailDear Editor, It was interesting to see the Pope in Sweden this week to mark 499 years since an Augustinian monk from a small town in Germany nailed a set of heretical theses to the town bulletin board, in hope of starting a conversation about his new ideas. People with less education and training than…
Month: November 2016
Address problem of theological illiteracy
Dear Editor, I attended your splendid Conference on the subject of Faith-based Schools in a pluralist society and was struck by the high calibre of many of the contributions, especially those of Francis Campbell and Baroness Nuala O’Loan. However, I was also impressed by the letter of Julie Connolly (‘A tendency towards pantheism’ IC 20/10/2016)…
World News in Brief
Asia Bibi judge resigns from the bench The Pakistani judge whose absence from court on October 13 caused yet another postponement of Asia Bibi’s appeal against her blasphemy death sentence has resigned from the bench. Justice Iqbal Hameedur Rehman is understood to have submitted his letter of resignation on the basis that he is also a judge in the case of…
Rome-approved bishop to be ordained in Diocese of Changzhi
A Vatican-appointed bishop in China will be elevated to his new bishopric on November 10 after two years waiting for approval from Beijing. Bishop Peter Ding Lingbin will be ordained for the Diocese of Changzhi, home to at least 50,000 Catholics, at a ceremony to be held at the Cathedral of Ss Peter and Paul.…
France to reconsider nativity scene ban
A legal advisor to France’s top administrative court has said that public buildings in the strongly secularist country could be allowed to house nativity scenes. According to French media, magistrate Aurélie Bretonneau said the tradition of nativity scenes – known as crèches in French – do not necessarily breach the nation’s 1905 law on church/state…
Vatican Roundup
Pope alters membership of Liturgical body Pope Francis has replaced in one move all of the members of the Congregation for Divine Worship. While membership of the body in charge of liturgical questions – like all others – is subject to change at the behest of the Pontiff, this is normally done on an individual or small group basis, making…
Prayers for Italy
A statue of Mary is seen in a collapsed church after an earthquake in Borgo Sant’Antonio near Visso, Italy on October 27. People have prayed for relief after this, the third quake in just two months. Photo: CNS
Crisis? What crisis?
Dear Editor, Your article ‘Catholic Library leadership rejects crisis claims’ (IC 27/10/2016) reports that the new chairperson of the Central Catholic Library insists the library is not in a state of crisis despite almost a third of library’s board having stepped down. It is hard to imagine anyone who read the article with attention sharing…
Arrogance of Zappone is startling
Dear Editor, I would like to thank Mary Kenny for her excellent article of October 20, 2016, ‘Is Katherine Zappone fit for her government job?’ As a grandparent who minds our grandchildren weekly, I so appreciate her sensitivity. The sheer arrogance of Minister Zappone is startling. Her refusal to give young mothers the choice of…
Question the office as much as the minister
Dear Editor, In her opinion piece of October 20, Mary Kenny asks whether Katherine Zappone is fit for the job. While it is legitimate to question her competency for the office, I think in fairness one should question the office itself as fulfilled by her and her predecessors. After all, the education of children is…