Marie Collins tells We Are Church gathering, “If there is no consistent agreement across the Church as to what is sexual abuse of a minor, then how can we have any hope of consistent handling of the issue?”
Episcopal vacancies are an opportunity for the Church in Ireland to lay new foundations, says We Are Church Ireland.
The story of Sr Oliva Maria demonstrates “the far-flung places to which Irish missionaries went and the diverse nature of their work and supports that they provided for the poor and marginalised”.
“Are you seriously telling me that all these Sisters were all evil psychopaths? That is not my experience.”
Politicians who supported the campaign to repeal the Eighth Amendment are “clearly out of communion” with the Church warns Bishop Kevin Doran.
In his traditional Christmas day Urbi et Orbi message, the Pontiff prayed that Syrians might “find fraternity after long years of war” and that Yemen’s recent truce would bring relief to its people and children “exhausted by war and famine”.
So many persons stop every Christmas before the mystery of God made man, represented in the crib with statuettes, which in many cases are authentic masterpieces of art to pray, to reflect and to discover the love of God who becomes a child for us – Archbishop Rino Fisichella.
“Let it be clear that before these abominations the Church will spare no effort to do all that is necessary to bring to justice whosoever has committed such crimes.”
“Very many are under great strain because accommodation and housing is scarce or beyond their reach. A new political impetus is required along with real determination to make inroads into this critical need in so many people’s lives” – Bishop William Crean, Cloyne.
"For those who are involved in the service and transmission of faith..."
In the 52nd World Day of Peace message, Pope Francis admonishes those whose political addresses blame every evil on migrants as “unacceptable”.
Capital punishment is “contrary to the Gospel as it implies suppressing a life that is always sacred in the eyes of the Creator, and of which only God is the true judge and guarantor”.
"Advent also prepares us for the second coming of Christ at the end of time. As Christians, we must always be prepared for the coming of the Lord." – Archbishop Eamon Martin.
There is “little sense of mission within the Catholic Church in Ireland” and no sense of what that mission should be, Bishop Dermot Farrell tells conference in Kilkenny.
“We state definitively that those who do not respect freedom of thought, conscience and religion must be held to account” – Chair of the Council for Justice and Peace of the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference, Bishop Alan McGuckian.
“You are the musical animators of the whole congregation. Don’t take its place, depriving the people of God of the chance to sing with you.”
It is Pope Francis’s hope that the book will create inter-generational dialogue and he asks young and old to join forces for the betterment of the world.
Rialto Bridge and waters of the Grand Canal in Venice bathed in crimson to draw attention to the discrimination that Christians like Asia Bibi suffer in many parts of the world.
“This is not a time for wringing our hands in frustration or for sitting on our hands in despair. We need to talk. We need to work together. We need to stop deferring decisions that need to be made now.”
An opportunity to “reflect on the visit of Pope Francis to Ireland last August when he invited us to welcome Christ in the bits and pieces, the ordinary moments of everyday life” – Archbishop Eamon Martin.
The lunch included lasagne, chicken pieces and mashed potato, with tiramisu for dessert.
“We are so trapped in a culture that induces us to look in the mirror and pamper ourselves, that we think that an altruistic gesture is enough, without the need to get directly involved.”
Italian bishops introduce new translation of line from the Lord's Prayer, but Irish bishops have no immediate plans to change the wording.
“Celebrations must be beautiful, not worldly, because worldliness depends on the god of money, which is idolatry.”
"We all want peace. It is desired above all by those who suffer its absence".
The saints are close to us and they tell us the way of the Beatitudes is not about doing extraordinary things, but about following every day this way that leads us to Heaven.
Catholic peer Baroness Nuala O’Loan tells conference ‘Women and the Catholic Church’ there is “change afoot” in the Church in relation to women.
“I felt our World Meeting of Families had been hijacked in a way by this particular letter,” Archbishop Eamon Martin says of controversial 25 August missive calling on Pope Francis to resign.
Recent developments that make the invitation from North Korea possible include the provisional agreement signed between the Vatican and China, which is a major sponsor of the North Korean regime.
