Month: December 2014

Cancerland

In his weekly Western People column Brendan Hoban thanks God for another Christmas season almost done and for being able to face another new year. ‘There’s nothing like a serious illness when the future hangs in the balance to give you a sense of the precious breadth and delicious texture of the ordinary bits and pieces of life.’

Pope Francis to the Curia: “Priests are like airplanes”!

The official translation is now available at http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2014/december/documents/papa-francesco_20141222_curia-romana.html.
The introduction says, “Francis received in audience the Cardinals and the Superiors of the Roman Curia for Christmas greetings.” Francis mentions “brothers and sisters” at the beginning!
Pádraig McCarthy

Christmas is a strange time.

Brendan Hoban, in his Western People column, offers a seasonal reflection.
“Christmas is a strange time. It has a funny way of creating an empty space
around us. Despite the hype, Christmas has a way of stripping our lives down
to the essentials. In the midst of Christmas cheer, a small thin voice
insists on posing a series of difficult questions: what does it all mean? Am
I happy? what is my life for? how can I satisfy that itch within me? how can
I satisfy that part of me that nothing seems to satisfy? “

Blessings

Tony Conry is a missionary priest working in Brazil. Tony suggests that we can and should be creative in making up our own homespun blessings because ‘the English language robbed us of our Celtic heritage and gave us all a sterile cold communications system bereft of all emotional warmth and spiritual nourishment.’

Lima’s call for Climate Action

Sean McDonagh gives his reaction to the report from COP20 in Lima.
The Lima document broke with all previous COPs where the burden of reducing greenhouse gases was placed squarely on the shoulders of rich countries which historically have been emitting carbon dioxide since the beginning of the industrial revolution. In Lima poor countries felt that rich countries were attempting to move the burden of reducing carbon dioxide emissions on to their shoulders.

Response to comments made by Senator Rónán Mullen on Newstalk Radio

Brendan Hoban responds to comments made by Senator Rónán Mullen on a live radio programme concerning Fr. Tony Flannery.

On the day when the Vatican’s three-year investigation into US nuns concluded with a call to continued dialogue it seems that the message of openness preached by Pope Francis is still not being heard in some quarters, not least the CDF.
In contrast the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life commenting on those sisters who did not co-operate with the ‘visitation’ says “we use this present opportunity to invite all religious institutes to accept our willingness to engage in respectful and fruitful dialogue with them.”
We look forward to this “willingness to engage in respectful and fruitful dialogue” being put into practice by all in the Curia and all in positions of power or influence.

Everybody needs to be supervised

Reflecting on some of the issues that received intense media coverage in recent times Brendan Hoban in his Western People column concludes that “Sometimes institutions, reluctant to reform, need the shock of public humiliation to get their act together, especially when the vulnerable innocent are at risk.”
The plain truth of the matter is, Brendan states, that “In any institution or system, things go wrong, when those in positions of power are not properly supervised.”

New Synod questionnaire on family issues issued by Vatican website

For your information we publish the New Synod questionnaire on family issues published by the Vatican. It requests episcopal conferences to choose a suitable manner of involving all components of the particular churches and academic institutions, organizations, lay movements and other ecclesial associations.

ACP in correspondence with Pope Francis, Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Muller, Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and Archbishop Eamon Martin to express the concern of our association for the plight of Fr Tony Flannery.

In recent times the leadership of the ACP, wrote to Pope Francis, Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Muller, Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and Archbishop Eamon Martin to express the concern of our association for the plight of Fr Tony Flannery.
We publish the correspondence

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