Month: May 2013

‘Materialism’ isn’t our real problem: covetousness is

So many Church people today blame ‘materialism’ for the loss of faith: here, Sean O Connaill suggests that materialism is not the problem, but rather covetous or mimetic desire. The fundamental human need that drives surplus material acquisition is a need for something entirely non-material. Homilists are challenged to reflect this in their words.

Sixth Sunday of Easter — Bidding Prayers

Next Sunday the Church in Ireland will celebrate the Ascension of Jesus (other countries hold to the tradition of keeping ‘Ascansion Thursday’, as Catholics in Ireland once did). As the Easter season moves to its second climax at Pentecost, we take heed of the Lord’s final words to his disciples and look forward to the fresh coming of the Holy Spirit, renewing the hearts of believers.

Abolish the priesthood!

Linda Hogan reviews Garry Wills’ latest book, ‘Why Priests? A Failed Tradition‘, in which Wills argues that the most honest position on priesthood would be to seek its abolition altogether, given its lack of biblical justification (first published in the Irish Times: read original article here ). Wills’ target is not the 400,000 individual priests, many of whom, he acknowledges, make a significant contribution to the lives of countless millions worldwide. Rather, his focus is on the institution, which, he argues, has a flimsy biblical heritage and a dubious theological justification and is an impediment to the development of a more egalitarian Christianity.

Support Group for Priests and Religious out of ministry is thriving

An update has been received a member of the organising team of the Support Group for Priests and Religious out of Ministry.  The ACP Leadership are delighted that this initiative is going well, and we encourage those who read this to spead the word of this group’s existence to any priest you know who is in this situation.

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