Tony Flannery gives his impressions of the International Church Reform Conference that took place over five days last week in Pezinok, Slovakia.
"The variety of people was one of the striking factors, - from Estonia, Korea, Russia, Bulgaria, India, Argentina, Australia, and many other places, - fifteen countries in all. So it was a rich experience, being with such people over five days."

Press Release of the “International Catholic Reform Network” (ICRN) June 16, 2018

Many thanks to Michael A. McGinn.
Best wishes to all members who are celebrating significant anniversaries.

The Association of Catholics in Ireland (ACI) has issued a comprehensive report on the proceedings of their conference Future Families: Challenges for Faith and Society, held in anticipation of the World Meeting of Families 2018 planned for Dublin in August.
ACI challenges the WMOF to reflect the realities of family life today.

Brendan Hoban, writing in the Western People, looks at the continuing fall out from the recent referendum on the eighth amendment and expresses concern at a 'moral triumphalism and political totalitarianism (that) has no place in public discourse.'
....
"if this is the new Ireland then God help those who disagree with the emerging consensus. It won’t hold a candle to the control and oppressiveness of the Catholic past, and that’s saying something."

The ACP  will host 4 public regional meetings ahead of the Papal visit.
The theme  of the meetings is  “What do we need to say to Pope Francis about the Irish Church?”
These meetings are open to everybody.

Pádraig McCarthy draws our attention to the preparatory document: “Amazonia: New Paths for the Church and for an Integral Ecology” of the Synod of Bishops for the Special Assembly for the Pan-Amazon Region.

Brian Fahy offers a reflection for the Feast of the Sacred Heart.
"That statue [of the Sacred Heart] represents the human form of the Lord and it is in his body that he came to bring God’s love home to me. That body enjoyed the warmth of this world and endured its bitter cold."

We Are Church Ireland  launched a petition calling on Pope Francis to change Vatican theological language that is gravely insulting to LGBTQI people.

Patrick Burke is curate in Westport, Co. Mayo and is Pastoral Co-ordinator of Clare Island and Inishturk.
"The Pastoral Councils on both islands are vital to the life of the parish. They meet regularly, I’m only present occasionally. ..... In many ways they are an example of what we are now trying to do on the mainland – lay led ministry."