The Pope is putting greater faith in the local Church and does not believe that the magisterium must intervene to settle every doctrinal, moral and pastoral dispute, writes Fr Declan Marmion SM The Catholic Church is typically structured as a pyramid – the Pope at the top, people at the base. Pope Francis wants to…
Personal Profile Dr Jessie Rogers made history recently, becoming the first lay person and the first woman to be dean of St Patrick’s College, Maynooth. To her, it seemed as natural as anything – but she recognises the privilege and responsibility that comes from the appointment. “From my own internal experience of Maynooth, it didn’t…
The call to stay home and save lives is also an inner call, write Declan Marmion and Ann Guinee Covid-19 has disrupted our lifestyles, our work, and our way of communicating with each other. The initial impulse to stockpile, whether it was toilet paper or hand sanitiser, was a balm of sorts. Happily, that…
Dear Editor, I was heartened by the fact that Limerick’s Bishop Brendan Leahy drew a firm line between Christianity and racism last week (IC 19/09/19). Racial intolerance was more prevalent, normalised and accepted 50 years ago, but we now live in different times and should know much better. Ireland has become more globalised and through…
Some recently-ordained priests see Holy Orders as a kind of elite caste, but the Pope is determined to change this, writes Fr Declan Marmion SM The dramatic fall-off in vocations in recent decades has led many, including Church authorities themselves, to ask if the current model of priestly formation is fit for purpose. How…
The current model of seminary formation is neither as old or as monolithic as is often believed, writes Prof. Salvador Ryan It has often been said that the seminary model of priestly formation, which was first introduced by order of the Council of Trent in the 16th Century, is a monolithic and outdated system…
Ireland’s top theology courses continue to be attractive to students as CAO points drop for the majority of level-8 degrees. Points for Theology and Arts in St Patrick’s College Maynooth remain much the same, rising by just one point to 301 compared to last year. The course allows students to study Theology along with another…
Declan Marmion Martin Luther: Catholic Dissident by Peter Stanford (Hodder & Stoughton, £20.00) When Martin Luther allegedly pinned his 95 theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg on October 31, 1517 he had little idea of the theological and political tumult he was about to unleash in Germany and elsewhere in Europe.…
Salvador Ryan examines the origins of the Lutheran Reformation
Bishop Alphonsus Cullinan, Bishop of Waterford and Lismore extended his support to the local community of Dunmore East in Co. Waterford after the tragic death of 6 year-old Matthew Purcell-Healy, whose body was found in a car in the early hours of last Thursday. Gardaí are currently probing if the schoolboy died by suffocation.
Courtney McGrail