The View Ireland has a proud record of environmental protection. It is good to see the concern which enables the continued protection of pygmy stoats, red squirrels, otters, pine martens, badgers, hares, all bat and deer species, the Natterjack Toad and the Common Newt, almost all resident wild birds, the White-clawed Crayfish, the Freshwater…
Category: Comment & Analysis
Sticking with a battered Church despite everything
Our Christian faith ultimately rests on Christ himself, writes David Quinn The faith of many Catholics has suffered another battering recently because of the latest eruption of public anger over abuse scandals. In Germany, a report commissioned by the Catholic bishops there shows that over a 70-year period, more than 3,000 priests have been…
An innocent abroad
There is reason to speculate on how well prepared the Pope was for his Irish trip, writes Greg Daly “It is not enough to turn the page. Life must be given anew.” This quote from Pope Francis headlined the La Civiltà Cattolica account last week of the August 25 meeting between the Pope and…
Are young people the future of the Church?
Chai Brady discusses the upcoming Synod on Youth As the Church comes closer to a major discussion on young people, it’s worth taking note of the aims and processes behind what it hopes to address: a crisis in reaching youth. The Synod on Youth will be held in the Vatican from October 3-28 on…
Banking on the Pope’s high risk strategy paying off
Francis is gambling with bishops’ conferences, but it’s probably the only card he has, writes Michael Kelly Depending on where you stand on Pope Francis, his decision to call a summit of the heads of the world’s bishops’ conferences is either courageous or too little too late. It’s certainly unprecedented and the February meeting…
Mission-focused parishes: a vision for the laity
Changes in Clogher mark a realistic direction for the Irish Church, writes Greg Daly Ask not what your church can do for you, but what you can do for your church. Msgr Joseph McGuinness didn’t say this in any of the recent missives issued from the Diocese of Clogher, but he could have done.…
Abuse bombshell effects Church’s ability to help children
Letter from Rome A scandal’s impact can be measured multiple ways, with the most obvious being the toll it takes in terms of bad press, litigation and settlements, declining attendance or market share, as well as disillusionment and outrage among the rank and file. What’s often harder to assess is the opportunity cost – what…
Despite criticism, Pope largely confirms current synod process
Elise Harris While many in conservative camps of the Church feared sweeping changes to the structure and function of the Synod of Bishops following the tumultuous 2014-2015 gatherings on the family, Pope Francis largely upheld the current process. Critics who have been frustrated at the current process, however, might also be disappointed that no…
Bridging the unbridgeable gap
“Besides all this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.” Abraham speaks these words to a soul in Hell in the famous parable of the Rich Man and…
‘Men’s Sheds for the soul?’
The Notebook Fr Vincent Sherlock For 21 years I have had the chance to spend a few weeks each year in a parish in the diocese of Rockville Centre, New York – two years in one and the past 19 in another. It seems strange perhaps to combine holidays with working in a parish…