Category: Articles
Pope Francis’ experts disagree on the issue of women deacons
On May 7, 2019 Pope Francis said his own experts could not agree on whether women were ordained as deacons in the same way that men were in the early church. The Wijngaards Institute suggests that the Pope should consult documents in the Vatican library to clear his own mind on the subject.
read moreA New Year Resolution for ACI Catholics
Aidan Hart suggests an appropriate New Year’s resolution for ACI Catholics which would help bring about the necessary reforms of the Church into a Christ-centered lay movement, humbly served by priests and hierarchy.
read moreWhat underlies René Girard’s ‘mimetic desire’?
What underlies the tendency that drives so much consumerism and rivalry - even at Christmas? Sean O'Conaill attempts an explanation.
read moreACP Letter to Irish Bishops calls for a National Assembly to discuss Church Reform and Renewal
Dear Bishops, We write in the aftermath of the visit of Pope Francis. It was a strange few days. On the one hand, the palpable delight of so many in the visit of Pope Francis and the lift it has given to the Irish Church. On the other, a sinking feeling that the visit and...
read moreThe Diaspora of a Disconnected Church
Sean O’Conaill, in a recent letter to the Irish Times, questions that paper’s continued use of the term ‘Catholic Church’ as if that term is describing a unitary entity instead of a much divided reality. The Irish Times refused to publish the letter. It is published on this website (below) to access the response of our readers to the issue.
read moreWomen deacons – when will we know?
The Wijngaards Institute for Catholic Research wonders when Pope Francis’ Study Commission on The Women’s Diaconate (set up in August 2016) is going to report back and be published and if Cardinal Ladaria is right that it is impossible for the Catholic Church to ordain women to the priesthood or permanent diaconate.
read more‘No little disappointment’: Fr Gerry Moloney
"Starting out, I never dreamed I would fall foul of Rome." Fr Gerry Moloney tells of his disillusionment with an institution that acts unjustly.
read moreChristendom is over – in Ireland too, thank God?
Does Bishop Leo O'Reilly's homily in Knock on June 17th, 2018, mark an important shift in the Irish Catholic Church's thinking on the state?
read moreFuture Families Report – June 2018
The ACI Future Families conference report calls for recognition of the families who feel marginalised and unwanted by the Church.
read moreEmerging Christianity
Philip McParland sees a new kind of Christianity emerging, ushered in by Richard Rohr, Brian McLaren and others - a 'spiritual path' rather than a 'belief and belonging system'.
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