Wherever the synodal process goes, it cannot break with core Church teachings, writes David Quinn When I attended one of the synodal meetings in my parish in Dublin a number of months ago that discussed the issues facing the Church in the archdiocese, some of my initial concerns about where the whole process might go…
“Why did you not go in to join the celebrations?” It is a fair question! There was jealousy at work. Yes, he had gone away and left us all in the lurch. Yes, he had eaten into my father’s property but there was more to it than that. I resented him, not just because he had…
The synod process currently underway in Ireland is being replicated all across the Catholic world. To be sure, it is being met with varying degrees of enthusiasm – but it is a testament to the unity of Catholicism that the Pope is able to announce such an ambitious programme of consultation and within months parishes…
Jason Osborne in Athlone The need for an ambitious plan of adult faith formation has emerged as one of the key themes from the national pre-synodal gathering in Athlone. Church leaders described as “heartening” the appetite parishioners displayed to deepen their faith. While a report will now be sent to Rome to form the Irish…
Jason Osborne and Ruadhán Jones Faithful from across the 26 dioceses gathered in Athlone Saturday as the Church in Ireland convened for the national pre-synodal assembly. The purpose of the meeting was to move towards developing the final national synthesis that represents the results of the listening and discernment of the Faithful during the first…
There has been a “clear call” for married priests, according to the synod report from the diocese of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise. The call came from a listening session with parents in the diocese, which largely covers counties Leitrim and Longford. “There is a strong focus on priests as core to the Church. And here there…
Shannon Campbell The View We hear views we disagree with all the time, but do we really listen to them? How do we approach difficult conversations in a way that ensures everyone feels fully heard? These are questions my peers and I have been wrestling with over recent months as we’ve been expressing our views…
This phase of the synod process has provoked diverse and sometimes contradictory suggestions, but also shown that many people still care for the Church, writes Bishop Brendan Leahy One thing is clear: The Church does not stand still. The Spirit pushes us forward. Pope Francis comments on the expression sometimes heard reflecting a hesitancy about…
The views of a section of the Church, even if it is the view of many, is not the sense of the Faithful, writes Dr John Murray Last week’s edition of The Irish Catholic reports that the Dublin synodal report “says that ‘many were moved by the Spirit’ to call for the consideration of female…
The Church is doing gay Catholics a disservice by watering down teaching on homosexuality, hears Jason Osborne The term ‘LGBT’ is reductionist and if the Church bends to change its teaching on the matter, “the entire edifice of its teaching on sexuality collapses”. So says John (not his real name), a Catholic who prefers to…
David Quinn
Michael Kelly
Ruadhán Jones