Two things happened in Catholic education this month, and read together they tell an uncomfortable story — not about the Church’s willingness to change, but about the State’s. On October 16, the Catholic Education Partnership (CEP) will launch the ‘Irish Church’s new Vision for Catholic Schools in Ireland’, the opening move in a three-year formation process that the Association of Patrons…
Draft working document sets out proposals ahead of National Synodal Assembly A draft working document setting out proposals for the renewal of the Catholic Church in Ireland, seen by The Irish Catholic, has been prepared ahead of the National Synodal Assembly, which takes place in Gormanston, Co. Meath, on October 17. The document, marked ‘draft’…
The Church should welcome everyone who comes through its doors and that is the true spirit of inclusivity, says internationally recognised psychotherapist Stella O’Malley. But, she says, having seen a draft set of proposals from the Irish Synod Working Group, the Church is “cheerleading practices that risk serious harm to vulnerable people. It should be…
The former PSNI Ombudsman for Northern Ireland, Baroness Nuala O’Loan has welcomed the news that two Belfast priests shot dead by the British Army have had their cases opened for potential recognition of sainthood by the bishop. “I am so very pleased to hear that Bishop McGuckian has initiated the process ‘for the cause of saints’ and…
The future of the Irish Church Last week we argued that the Irish Church is managing decline rather than deciding what it wants to become. The question left hanging was what a real answer would look like. What we have actually done about the collapse in priest numbers can nearly be accounted for in three…
“The Synod is watering the garden, but the house is on fire.” That is not The Irish Catholic talking. It is the verdict of an experienced parish priest in the Diocese of Kildare & Leighlin, a man who supports the synodal pathway and has given years to it, speaking after this summer’s appointments were announced.…
Our contributor Fr Kieran O’Mahony OSA – readers will know him through his Hearers of the Word section in this paper – was buried last Friday at seventy-five, after an illness, and the tributes that followed called him what he was: a gifted teacher of Scripture, an Augustinian who spent decades making biblical texts breathe…
10 million children will die by 2030 because of aid cuts Extreme poverty in the world could have been ended had the USA and other countries not reversed their oversees aid policies in 2025, the head of the charity and NGO Trócaire has said. Sean Farrell, who took up the position of CEO of Trócaire…
A parish priest has called for better communication between clergy, undertakers and parishioners after an experience that left him questioning whether ministry is drifting from relational to transactional. Writing in his Notebook column for The Irish Catholic, Fr Martin Delaney describes visiting a woman in his parish monthly for several years, bringing her Communion, and attending…
Baroness Nuala O’Loan has called for the Holy See to review what is happening to Catholics in China, citing human rights abuses, religious repression and the case of an underground Church priest she says was killed for his ministry. Writing exclusively in this paper Ms O’Loan states: “The 2018 Agreement [between China and the Holy…